Calvino v. Little Wane Father

Background

Ernest Calvino Jr. filed a complaint against Little Wane Father, Little Wane Son, and Little Wane Dobles. He invoked federal-question and diversity jurisdiction and alleged a “conspiracy of extortion,” exploitation, scams, threats, harassment, spying to obstruct legal rights, and theft of personal information. He identified the places of occurrence as “N.Y., M.A.” and did not provide a date of occurrence.

The court had already granted Calvino permission to proceed without prepaying filing fees. Under the statute governing fee-free cases, the court must dismiss a complaint that is frivolous, malicious, fails to state a claim, seeks money from an immune defendant, or falls outside the court’s subject-matter jurisdiction. The court also explained that it must read filings by people without lawyers generously.

Ruling

Chief Judge Colleen McMahon held that Calvino’s allegations were irrational and that there was no legal theory supporting his claims. The court therefore dismissed the action as frivolous under 28 U.S.C. § 1915(e)(2)(B). The court declined to allow amendment because it concluded that the defects could not be cured.

The court also repeated its warning that further vexatious or frivolous litigation could lead to an order barring Calvino from filing new actions without prepaying fees unless he first received permission. The clerk was directed to mail the order to Calvino and record service on the docket. The court certified that an appeal would not be taken in good faith and denied fee-free status for an appeal.