Canders v. MSN Online News

Background

Tijuana L. Canders filed the case without a lawyer and was permitted to proceed without prepaying filing fees. Her second amended complaint described the federal bases of her claims as “copyright violations,” “social abuse,” and “spiritual abuse.” The court interpreted the complaint as raising copyright-infringement claims under the Copyright Act, trademark-infringement claims under the Lanham Act, and state-law claims.

Canders alleged that the defendants violated her copyright in a children’s literature book called We See Differently. She also alleged violations involving the “You Are Loved in Christ” trademark, podcasts, radio platforms, emails, publishing, marketing, and solicitation. Documents attached to the complaint appeared to show that she owned the copyright and trademark. She sought damages and asked the court to bring criminal charges against the defendants.

Court’s analysis

Because Canders was proceeding without a lawyer, the court read her allegations liberally, but it still required her complaint to provide enough facts to state a plausible claim for relief.

Criminal-prosecution requests. The court dismissed any claims seeking the investigation or prosecution of the defendants for lack of subject-matter jurisdiction. A private plaintiff cannot initiate a criminal prosecution in federal court, and neither the plaintiff nor the court can direct prosecutors to bring criminal charges.

Copyright claims. To state a copyright-infringement claim, a plaintiff must allege ownership of a valid copyright and infringement by the defendant. The court found that Canders appeared to claim ownership of We See Differently, but did not explain how any particular defendant infringed that copyright. The court therefore dismissed the copyright claims for failure to state a claim. It granted Canders 30 days to file a third amended complaint specifying how each defendant infringed the copyright.

Trademark claims. A trademark-infringement claim requires facts showing that the mark is legally protected and that the defendant’s use was likely to confuse consumers about the source or sponsorship of goods or services. The court found that Canders appeared to claim ownership of the “You Are Loved in Christ” trademark, but did not allege how any defendant used the mark or caused, or was likely to cause, consumer confusion. The court dismissed the trademark claims for failure to state a claim and allowed Canders 30 days to replead them.

Disposition

The court dismissed the action. It dismissed the criminal-prosecution claims for lack of subject-matter jurisdiction and dismissed the copyright and trademark claims for failure to state a claim. The court stated that, if Canders did not timely file a third amended complaint or show good cause for not doing so, it would enter judgment with those dispositions and would decline to consider any state-law claims under its supplemental jurisdiction. The court also certified that an appeal would not be taken in good faith and denied permission to proceed without prepaying appeal fees.

The order was signed by Chief United States District Judge Laura Taylor Swain.