Fair v. Yellen

Background

Keith Darnell Fair sued Janet Yellen, the U.S. Secretary of the Treasury. Fair was civilly committed and confined in a Secure Treatment and Rehabilitation Center, and he brought the action without a lawyer. The court had previously allowed him to proceed without paying filing fees upfront.

Fair sought payment based on documents he recorded with the Oneida County Clerk. He described himself as a “Private Citizen,” claimed beneficial ownership of the all-capitalized name “KEITH DARNELL FAIR,” and referred to trust records, a business trust, a conveyance, and a bill in equity. He alleged that the defendant failed to make a payment and asserted due-process, fraud, breach-of-fiduciary-duty, and contract-related theories.

Court’s analysis

Because Fair was proceeding without paying the filing fee, the court screened the complaint under 28 U.S.C. § 1915(e)(2)(B). That statute requires dismissal of an action that is frivolous, fails to state a claim, or seeks money from a defendant who is immune from that relief. The court also explained that it must dismiss claims over which it lacks subject-matter jurisdiction.

The court read Fair’s allegations liberally but concluded that they lacked a factual basis and that no legal theory supported his demand for payment from the U.S. Treasury based on recorded documents. The court noted that similar “private citizen,” trust, and beneficiary theories had been rejected as frivolous in other cases. It concluded that the defects could not be cured by amendment.

Disposition

The court dismissed Fair’s complaint as frivolous under 28 U.S.C. § 1915(e)(2)(B)(i). Judge Laura Taylor Swain declined to allow amendment, certified that any appeal would not be taken in good faith, denied fee-free status for purposes of an appeal, and directed the Clerk of Court to enter judgment. The opinion does not state a separate disposition using “with prejudice” or “without prejudice.”