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UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
FILED
FOR THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA MAY 1 6 2012
Clerk, U.S. District & Bankruptcy
Courts for the District of Columbia
)
Leona Cosby, )
)
Plaintiff, )
V.
)
) Civil Action No. 12 0786
)
Leroy Johnson et al., )
)
Defendants. )
)
MEMORANDUM OPINION
This matter is before the Court on plaintiffs prose complaint and application to proceed
in forma pauperis. The Court will grant plaintiffs application and dismiss the complaint for lack
of subject matter jurisdiction.
The subject matter jurisdiction of the federal district courts is limited and is set forth
generally at 28 U.S.C. §§ 1331 and 1332. Under those statutes, federal jurisdiction is available
only when a "federal question" is presented or the parties are of diverse citizenship and the
amount in controversy exceeds $75,000. A party seeking relief in the district court must at least
plead facts that bring the suit within the court's jurisdiction. See Fed. R. Civ. P. 8(a). Failure to
plead such facts warrants dismissal ofthe action. See Fed. R. Civ. P. 12(h)(3).
Plaintiff, a District of Columbia resident of what the Court judicially notices to be a
homeless shelter, sues two individuals listed as residing at the same location for alleged sexual
harassment, battery, theft and other misconduct. The instant complaint neither presents a federal
question nor provides a basis for diversity jurisdiction because the parties are not of diverse
citizenship and plaintiff does not seek monetary relief. Plaintiffs recourse lies, if at all, in the
Superior Court of the District of Columbia. A separate Order of dismissal accompanies this
Memorandum Opinion.
Ctl~) v)&c Y);<~_b
United States Distnct Judge ""'7
Date: April 2;/.4 2012
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