Ezekwo v. St. Phillip Neri, Catholic Church

Background

Ifeoma Ezekwo filed the action without a lawyer and paid the filing fees. She alleged that St. Phillip Neri, Catholic Church; the Archdiocese of New York; the American Council of Catholic Bishops; Pope Francis and Vatican; named individuals; Catholic Homes; and unidentified defendants violated her constitutional rights. Her allegations included discrimination based on religious status, sex, gender, race, national origin, and societal status; retaliation; and efforts to take or use her real-estate property without her consent. The opinion states that she also sought the arrest and criminal prosecution of defendants.

Court’s analysis

The court applied the requirement that a complaint contain a short and plain statement showing entitlement to relief. It concluded that Ezekwo’s 25-page complaint did not comply with that requirement because, despite closely reviewing it, the court could not determine what claims she was trying to assert. The court therefore dismissed the complaint for failure to state a claim.

The court construed Ezekwo’s constitutional-rights allegations as claims under 42 U.S.C. § 1983. Such a claim requires facts showing both that a federally protected right was violated and that the violation was committed by a person acting under state law. The court held that Ezekwo had not stated a § 1983 claim because the defendants were private parties who did not work for a state or other government body.

The court separately dismissed the request for arrest and criminal prosecution. It explained that the decision to prosecute belongs to prosecutors, and a private plaintiff cannot direct prosecutors or the court to bring a criminal case against someone.

Disposition

The court dismissed Ezekwo’s complaint for failure to state a claim for relief. It granted her 30 days from the date of the order to file an amended complaint. The amended complaint had to replace, rather than supplement, the original complaint and provide, to the greatest extent possible, the relevant defendants’ names and addresses, the dates and locations of events, the facts showing what each defendant did, the rights allegedly violated, the injuries, and the relief sought. The court stated that if Ezekwo did not timely amend and did not show good cause, it would enter a civil judgment consistent with the order and direct the Clerk to terminate the matter. Judge Louis L. Stanton signed the order.