Pariah v. Scott

Background

Jinja “Kyng” Pariah filed this self-represented lawsuit while held at the Rose M. Singer Center on Rikers Island. She named Raymone “Benzino” Scott, whom she described as a rapper and actor; Coi Leray Collins, also described as a rapper and actor; “Hot 97,” which the court understood to be a privately owned radio station located in New York, New York; Peter Rosenberg; and Katora “Young Ma” Merrero.

Pariah alleged that the events occurred in September 2021 through Instagram. Her allegations included a dispute over money paid for Coi Leray Collins to appear on a song, payments allegedly made to Peter Rosenberg to play her music on Hot 97, an alleged setup for her arrest, extortion of $1,000, and a threat to her life. She sought $100 million in damages for defamation, intentional torts, perjury, extortion, and other alleged conduct, as well as rights to the defendants’ music catalogs and criminal prosecution of the defendants.

The court had previously allowed Pariah to proceed without paying the filing fee in advance. The court also received a later letter raising separate allegations about mail, criminal proceedings, treatment at Bellevue Hospital Center, and sexual harassment at the detention center. The court stated that the letter was not part of this complaint and would not be treated as an addition to it.

Court’s analysis

Federal courts must screen complaints filed by prisoners seeking relief from government entities or employees, and must dismiss claims that are frivolous, malicious, fail to state a claim, seek money from an immune defendant, or fall outside the court’s subject-matter jurisdiction. Because Pariah was proceeding without a lawyer, the court was required to read her allegations liberally and interpret them to present the strongest claims reasonably suggested by the complaint.

Requests for criminal prosecution

The court dismissed, for lack of subject-matter jurisdiction, any claims seeking criminal prosecution of the defendants. A private plaintiff cannot initiate a criminal prosecution in federal court because the decision whether to prosecute belongs to prosecutors. The court also explained that Pariah lacked legal standing—the required connection to a claimed injury—to force criminal charges against someone else.

Remaining claims and diversity jurisdiction

The court stated that the defendants did not appear to be government officials or state actors. It therefore did not treat the dispute as a federal constitutional lawsuit. Instead, based on the alleged agreement involving a privately owned radio station and the alleged threat, the court construed the remaining claims as state-law claims potentially falling within diversity jurisdiction.

Diversity jurisdiction requires complete diversity, meaning that no plaintiff and defendant are citizens of the same state, and requires a reasonable probability that the amount in controversy exceeds $75,000. Pariah alleged that Scott and Collins were citizens of New York State, but did not provide her own state citizenship or the citizenship of the other defendants. She also requested $100 million and music-catalog rights, but did not allege facts showing that the claims were probably worth more than $75,000, particularly because the dispute appeared to involve an agreement under which she allegedly lost $1,000.

Leave to amend and disposition

Because Pariah was self-represented and might be able to provide facts establishing diversity jurisdiction, the court granted her 30 days to file an amended complaint. The amended complaint had to identify the relevant people and their titles, describe what each defendant allegedly did or failed to do, provide approximate dates and locations, describe her injuries, and state the relief requested. It had to repeat any facts or claims from the original complaint because it would replace, rather than supplement, the original complaint.

The court granted leave to file an amended complaint and stated that no summons would issue at that time. If Pariah failed to amend within the allowed period and could not show good cause, the court would dismiss the action for lack of subject-matter jurisdiction. The court also certified that an appeal would not be taken in good faith and denied permission to appeal without prepaying fees. It referred Pariah to the New York Legal Assistance Group’s Pro Se Clinic.