FILED
United States Court of Appeals
Tenth Circuit
UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS
August 18, 2011
TENTH CIRCUIT Elisabeth A. Shumaker
Clerk of Court
TONY LAMAR VANN, trustee of the
Estate of Viola Elizabeth Ebbs a/k/a
Viola Brown, deceased,
Plaintiff - Appellant, No. 11-5073
(D.C. No. 4:11-CV-00180-JHP-FHM)
v. (N.D. Oklahoma)
DENNIS L. WIENEKE; PEGGY L.
WIENEKE; RANDLE LONG;
PATRICIA LONG; ESTATE OF
ALONZO BROWN; REBECCA
BROWN, deceased; LELA M. SALES,
deceased and heirs; JUDGE DeLAPP;
THE STATE OF OKLAHOMA;
DAVID PISON; JERRY D. CASH;
BILL D. PHILLIPS; CLAYTON
TAYLOR; W. M. PECK;
CHARLES W. HANCOCK;
CLINTON BEARD; JEROME E.
FINK; and BERNARD M. ROBERTS,
of Quest Resource Corporation,
Defendants - Appellees.
ORDER AND JUDGMENT *
Before LUCERO, ANDERSON, and GORSUCH, Circuit Judges.
*
This order and judgment is not binding precedent except under the
doctrines of law of the case, res judicata, and collateral estoppel. It may be cited,
however, for its persuasive value consistent with Fed. R. App. P. 32.1 and 10th
Cir. R. 32.1.
After examining the briefs and appellate record, this panel has determined
unanimously that oral argument would not materially assist in the determination
of this appeal. See Fed. R. App. P. 34(a)(2); 10 th Cir. R. 34.1(G). The case is
therefore ordered submitted without oral argument.
Tony L. Vann, as Trustee of the Estate of Viola Elizabeth Ebbs a/k/a Viola
Brown, and proceeding pro se, appeals the dismissal of his complaint against
multiple defendants, on the ground that each of his many claims is either
frivolous or fails to state a claim on which relief may be granted. We affirm.
We take the basic facts from the district court’s order dismissing this case.
In a pleading titled “Complaint Under the Civil Rights Act 42 U.S.C. 1983-1985,”
Mr. Vann apparently attempted to file a Petition in Nowata County, Oklahoma,
state court without payment of costs. In March 2011, state court Judge DeLapp of
the Nowata County Court, a named defendant in this case, denied Mr. Vann’s
motion to proceed without prepayment of costs. Mr. Vann then brought this case
to federal court, seeking redress under 42 U.S.C. §§ 1983 and 1985, claiming that
he was denied access to Oklahoma state court in violation of his rights under
federal law.
His particular factual allegations are that Judge DeLapp conspired with
other defendants to deny him access to the courts “due to the fact said defendants
are members of the KKK white supremacy group.” Complaint at 3, R. Vol. 1 at
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17. Mr. Vann additionally appears to incorporate into his federal complaint the
allegations of his state court petition, in which he claims that multiple defendants
fraudulently misrepresented themselves and breached contracts in order to
wrongfully create and benefit from oil and gas leases on property owned by the
estate for which Mr. Vann serves as the trustee. Mr. Vann claims the alleged
fraud has continued since 1913.
In addition to his § 1983 and § 1985 claims, Mr. Vann includes counts of
fraudulent misrepresentation under Oklahoma law, breach of contracts, failure to
comply with 28 U.S.C. § 1915, criminal fraud under 18 U.S.C. § 1342, conspiracy
against rights, and violation of the Thirteenth Amendment to the United States
Constitution. He requests relief in the amount of $200,000,000,000.00 (two
hundred billion dollars) in damages.
While acknowledging that “[a] pro se litigant’s pleadings are to be
construed liberally and held to a less stringent standard than formal pleadings
drafted by lawyers,” Hall v. Bellmon, 935 F.2d 1106, 1110 (10 th Cir. 1991), the
district court carefully and methodically explained why each of Mr. Vann’s
claims had to be dismissed. We do not need to improve on the district court’s
analysis and explanation. Accordingly, we affirm the dismissal of this appeal for
substantially the reasons set forth in the district court’s order dated May 4, 2011.
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AFFIRMED.
ENTERED FOR THE COURT
Stephen H. Anderson
Circuit Judge
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