Attorneys Courtney Mayo obtained dismissal of a civil rights action filed by a pro se homeowner against municipal defendants including the town and police chief, as well as mortgage companies and healthcare providers.
The action arose from the foreclosure of the plaintiff’s property. The pro se plaintiff filed a disjointed complaint in federal court in which he alleged, among other things, that the defendants had engaged in racketeering, mortgage fraud and even conspiracy to commit medical euthanasia. The plaintiff’s Complaint eventually devolves into a doomsday manifesto railing against the government and the Obama and Trump Administrations in particular. In essence, the plaintiff appeared to be seeking a stay of foreclosure on his property.
All defendants filed motions to dismiss the Plaintiff’s Complaint. Attorney Mayo filed a motion to dismiss on behalf of the municipal defendants arguing that the Plaintiff’s Complaint failed to comply with Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 8(a)(2) requiring a “short and plain statement of the claim” and must “at least set forth minimal facts as to who did what to whom, when, where and why.” Calvi v. Knox County, 470 F.3d 422, 430 (1st Cir.2006) quoting Educadores Puertorriquenos en Accion v. Hernandez, 367 F.3d 61, 68 (1st Cir. 2004).
United States District Court Judge Timothy S. Hillman agreed that the complaint failed to contain the necessary short and plain statement of facts and granted dismissal in favor of the defendants. The plaintiff appealed the decision to the First Circuit Court of Appeals and submitted multiple appellate statements and letters in support of his appeal. The First Circuit affirmed the lower court’s decision to dismiss the Plaintiff’s Complaint.