Case: 12-10374 Date Filed: 02/21/2013 Page: 1 of 3
[DO NOT PUBLISH]
IN THE UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS
FOR THE ELEVENTH CIRCUIT
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No. 12-10374
Non-Argument Calendar
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D.C. Docket No. 1:11-cv-02568-AT
DANIEL HARGROVE,
Plaintiff-Appellant,
versus
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA CORP.,
SECRETARY, US DEPARTMENT OF TREASURY,
SECRETARY OF THE STATE OF GEORGIA,
Defendants-Appellees.
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Appeal from the United States District Court
for the Northern District of Georgia
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(February 21, 2013)
Before CARNES, BARKETT and ANDERSON, Circuit Judges.
PER CURIAM:
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Daniel Hargrove, a Georgia prisoner, appeals pro se the district court’s
dismissal of his civil action as frivolous and for failure to state a claim, pursuant to
28 U.S.C. § 1915A(b)(1). In the instant complaint, Hargrove alleged that (1) the
government had made the citizens of the United States “assets” to keep the
government afloat after it went bankrupt in 1933; (2) the Fourteenth Amendment
was invalid; (3) the United States was a corporation; and (4) Hargrove was owed
$400,000,000, because he became the “secured party” and “holder in due course of
the preferred stock” of the United States. On appeal, Hargrove reiterates the
allegations from his complaint.
We review de novo the district court’s sua sponte dismissal of a complaint
for failure to state a claim under § 1915A(b)(1), using the same standards that
govern dismissals under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure Rule 12(b)(6). Leal v.
Ga. Dep’t of Corr., 254 F.3d 1276, 1278-79 (11th Cir. 2001). Under § 1915A, the
district court (1) shall review, either before docketing or as soon as practicable
after docketing, a civil complaint brought by a prisoner against a government
defendant, and (2) dismiss the complaint if it is frivolous, malicious, or fails to
state a claim upon which relief may be granted. 28 U.S.C. § 1915A(a), (b)(1). Pro
se pleadings are held to a less strict standard than pleadings filed by lawyers and,
thus, are construed liberally. Alba v. Montford, 517 F.3d 1249, 1252 (11th Cir.
2008). A legal claim or argument that is not briefed on appeal is deemed
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abandoned. Access Now, Inc. v. Southwest Airlines Co., 385 F.3d 1324, 1330 (11th
Cir. 2004).
To properly state a claim, a complaint must contain “a short and plain
statement of the claim showing that the pleader is entitled to relief.” Fed. R. Civ.
P. 8(a)(2). In reviewing a court’s dismissal of a complaint, we must accept the
factual allegations in the complaint as true and construe them in the light most
favorable to the plaintiff. Timson v. Sampson, 518 F.3d 870, 872 (11th Cir. 2008).
However, the complaint must allege facts that, if true, “state a claim to relief that is
plausible on its face,” and conclusory statements, without more, are insufficient.
Ashcroft v. Iqbal, 556 U.S. 662, 678, 129 S. Ct. 1937, 1949, 173 L. Ed. 2d 868
(2009) (quotation omitted).
Hargrove abandoned his claim on appeal by failing to raise any legal
argument challenging the district court’s dismissal of his complaint. Even if
Hargrove’s appellate brief could be construed as arguing that the district court
erred in dismissing his complaint, Hargrove’s complaint contains nothing more
than conclusory, facially implausible allegations; thus, the district court did not err
in dismissing his complaint for failure to state a claim.
AFFIRMED.
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