[DO NOT PUBLISH]
IN THE UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS
FOR THE ELEVENTH CIRCUIT
________________________ FILED
U.S. COURT OF APPEALS
No. 10-11181 ELEVENTH CIRCUIT
Non-Argument Calendar MAY 23, 2011
________________________ JOHN LEY
CLERK
D.C. Docket No. 1:09-cv-21347-UU
MATTIE LOMAX,
lllllll llllllllllllllPlaintiff-Appellant,
versus
CAPITAL RENTAL AGENCY, INC.,
AMERICAN INVESTMENT SERVICES,
GREGORY SCHWEITZER,
MYRNA B. PALLEY,
lllllllllllllllllllllDefendants-Appellees.
________________________
Appeal from the United States District Court
for the Southern District of Florida
________________________
(May 23, 2011)
Before BARKETT, MARCUS and ANDERSON, Circuit Judges.
PER CURIAM:
Mattie Lomax, pro se, appeals the district court’s denial of her motion to
reconsider the court’s remand of her complaint alleging Defendants’ violation of
landlord obligations and retaliatory practices to state court. On appeal, Lomax
argues that the district court erred in remanding her complaint because federal
jurisdiction was proper and because her state claims asserting the Defendants’
breach of landlord obligations were meritorious.
We review a district court’s denial of a Fed.R.Civ.P. 60(b) motion for abuse
of discretion. Big Top Koolers, Inc. v. Circus-Man Snacks, Inc., 528 F.3d 839,
842 (11th Cir. 2008).1 An abuse of discretion occurs when the district court
“applies an incorrect legal standard, follows improper procedures in making the
determination, . . . makes findings of fact that are clearly erroneous . . . [or]
appl[ies] the law in an unreasonable or incorrect manner.” Klay v. Humana, Inc.,
382 F.3d 1241, 1251 (11th Cir. 2004) (quotation omitted).
“Pro se pleadings are held to a less stringent standard than pleadings drafted
by attorneys and will, therefore, be liberally construed.” Tannenbaum v. United
1
We have jurisdiction to review this action because Lomax filed a timely notice of
appeal of her Rule 60(b) motion. Her Rule 60(b) motion was timely because that provision gives
the litigant a year in which to file.
2
States, 148 F.3d 1262, 1263 (11th Cir. 1998). Although we show leniency to pro
se litigants, we will not serve as de facto counsel or “rewrite an otherwise deficient
pleading in order to sustain an action.” GJR Invs., Inc. v. County of Escambia,
Fla., 132 F.3d 1359, 1369 (11th Cir. 1998), overruled in part on other grounds by
Ashcroft v. Iqbal, 556 U.S. ___, 129 S.Ct. 1937, 173 L.Ed.2d 868 (2009); Randall
v. Scott, 610 F.3d 701, 709 (11th Cir. 2010) (recognizing that Iqbal effectively
overturned GJR’s heightened pleading standard for certain 42 U.S.C. § 1983
cases).
Under 28 U.S.C. § 1443(1), a defendant may remove an action to federal
court if it is brought “[a]gainst any person who is denied or cannot enforce in the
courts of such State a right under any law providing for the equal civil rights of
citizens of the United States, or of all persons within the jurisdiction thereof . . . .”
28 U.S.C. § 1443(1).
We hold that the district court did not abuse its discretion in remanding
Lomax’s complaint to state court because, as the state court plaintiff, she was not
entitled to remove the case under 28 U.S.C. § 1443.
Based on a review of the parties’ briefs and the record, we affirm the district
court’s remand of Lomax’s complaint.
3
AFFIRMED.2
2
Lomax’s request for oral argument is denied.
4