Calvino v. Bank of America

Background

Ernest Calvino Jr. filed the action without a lawyer against Bank of America. The court had previously allowed him to proceed without prepaying the filing fee. Calvino asserted claims described as “co-conspiracy of bank fraud, conspiracy of computer theft, and conspiracy of obstruction of legal right[s].”

Calvino alleged that he had an account at Bank of America but closed it for personal reasons. He then went to a Bank of America branch to open a new account. According to the complaint, a bank employee had him sign extra documents. Calvino also stated that he had heard the employee purchased property in Florida and that she probably knew him and knew about his missing property. He sought information about lost property in Florida and other damages.

Screening standard

Because Calvino was allowed to proceed without prepaying the filing fee, the court screened the complaint under 28 U.S.C. § 1915. That statute requires dismissal of a complaint that is frivolous, malicious, fails to state a claim, or seeks money from a defendant who is legally immune from such relief. The court also said it must read filings from people without lawyers generously and interpret them to raise the strongest claims they suggest.

The court explained that a claim is frivolous when it lacks a reasonable basis in law or fact. It found that Calvino’s claims were irrational and had no legal theory supporting them, even under the more generous standard for filings by people without lawyers.

Ruling

The court dismissed the action as frivolous under 28 U.S.C. § 1915(e)(2)(B)(i). It declined to give Calvino permission to amend because it found that the defects could not be fixed by amendment. The court also reiterated that continued filing of frivolous actions could result in additional sanctions, including an order preventing the Clerk of Court from accepting further documents for filing. The opinion refers to a prior related proceeding, No. 1:19-CV-11958 (S.D.N.Y.), in which the court had required Calvino to explain why he should not be barred from filing new actions without prepaying filing fees.

Chief United States District Judge Colleen McMahon certified that any appeal would not be taken in good faith and denied permission to appeal without prepaying the appellate filing fee. The Clerk was directed to mail the order to Calvino and record service on the docket.