Calvino v. All people living about supporting me legal and Interception…

Background

Ernest Calvino, Jr., appearing without a lawyer, filed a complaint against “All People Living About Supporting Me Legal and Interception Documents in Courts and Sign Perjury.” The court had previously allowed him to proceed without paying filing fees. Calvino did not identify a basis for federal-court jurisdiction on the complaint form. He described the alleged violations as “Theft of legal Documents, Theft of Information, perjury.”

Calvino alleged that people claiming to support him legally had produced no results and had intercepted documents containing his information, assets, private items, and other material. He also alleged that his identity had been stolen and his signature duplicated without permission. He described his injuries as lost wages, emotional distress, and damage to his personal image. He requested money and other relief.

Court’s reasoning

The court explained that it must dismiss a complaint filed without paying fees if it is frivolous, malicious, fails to state a claim for relief, seeks money from an immune defendant, or falls outside the court’s subject-matter jurisdiction. A claim is frivolous when it has no reasonable basis in fact or law. Although courts must read complaints filed by people without lawyers generously, the court concluded that Calvino’s claims were irrational and had no supporting legal theory.

Courts generally give a self-represented plaintiff an opportunity to amend a defective complaint. The court found that amendment would be futile here, so it declined to grant leave to amend.

Disposition

The court dismissed the action as frivolous under 28 U.S.C. § 1915(e)(2)(B)(i). The order does not state that the dismissal was with or without prejudice. The clerk was directed to mail Calvino a copy of the order and record service on the docket.

Appeal and filing warning

The court certified under 28 U.S.C. § 1915(a)(3) that any appeal would not be taken in good faith and denied fee-waived status for an appeal. The court also repeated its warning that further vexatious or frivolous litigation could lead to an order barring Calvino from filing new actions without paying fees unless he first received permission. The opinion states that Calvino had filed 41 actions in that court between December 17, 2019, and January 7, 2020, and that 11 had been dismissed as frivolous.