Filed: Oct. 05, 2018
Latest Update: Mar. 03, 2020
Summary: NOT PRECEDENTIAL UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS FOR THE THIRD CIRCUIT _ No. 18-2688 _ ASIA JOHNSON, Appellant v. GERMAN AEROSPACE CENTER _ On Appeal from the United States District Court for the Western District of Pennsylvania (D.C. Civil Action No. 2:18-cv-00899) District Judge: Honorable Mark R. Hornak _ Submitted Pursuant to Third Circuit LAR 34.1(a) October 4, 2018 Before: SHWARTZ, KRAUSE and FUENTES, Circuit Judges (Opinion filed: October 5, 2018) _ OPINION * _ PER CURIAM * This dispositio
Summary: NOT PRECEDENTIAL UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS FOR THE THIRD CIRCUIT _ No. 18-2688 _ ASIA JOHNSON, Appellant v. GERMAN AEROSPACE CENTER _ On Appeal from the United States District Court for the Western District of Pennsylvania (D.C. Civil Action No. 2:18-cv-00899) District Judge: Honorable Mark R. Hornak _ Submitted Pursuant to Third Circuit LAR 34.1(a) October 4, 2018 Before: SHWARTZ, KRAUSE and FUENTES, Circuit Judges (Opinion filed: October 5, 2018) _ OPINION * _ PER CURIAM * This disposition..
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NOT PRECEDENTIAL
UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS
FOR THE THIRD CIRCUIT
___________
No. 18-2688
___________
ASIA JOHNSON,
Appellant
v.
GERMAN AEROSPACE CENTER
____________________________________
On Appeal from the United States District Court
for the Western District of Pennsylvania
(D.C. Civil Action No. 2:18-cv-00899)
District Judge: Honorable Mark R. Hornak
____________________________________
Submitted Pursuant to Third Circuit LAR 34.1(a)
October 4, 2018
Before: SHWARTZ, KRAUSE and FUENTES, Circuit Judges
(Opinion filed: October 5, 2018)
___________
OPINION *
___________
PER CURIAM
*
This disposition is not an opinion of the full Court and pursuant to I.O.P. 5.7 does not
constitute binding precedent.
Asia Johnson, proceeding pro se and in forma pauperis, appeals from the District
Court’s order dismissing her complaint for failure to state a claim. For the reasons
detailed below, we will affirm.
Johnson sued defendant German Aerospace Center for allegedly creating an
artificial sun, which, she asserted, blocks the rays of the “real” sun. Johnson claimed that
this artificial sun brought on a heatwave that caused her to “almost pass[] out” on July 4,
2018, and killed 33 people in Canada. Compl. at 5. Among other damages, she sought
the return of “real” sunlight. The District Court granted Johnson’s request to proceed in
forma pauperis, concluded that Johnson had failed to state a claim for relief, and
dismissed the complaint with prejudice under 28 U.S.C. § 1915.
We have jurisdiction pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 1291. We review an order
dismissing a complaint pursuant to 28 U.S.C § 1915 for failure to state a claim under the
same de novo standard of review that we use to review an order dismissing a complaint
pursuant to Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 12(b)(6). See generally Allah v. Seiverling,
229 F.3d 220, 223 (3d Cir. 2000). “To survive a motion to dismiss, a complaint must
contain sufficient factual matter, accepted as true, to ‘state a claim to relief that is
plausible on its face.’” Ashcroft v. Iqbal,
556 U.S. 662, 678 (2009) (quoting Bell Atl.
Corp. v. Twombly,
550 U.S. 544, 570 (2007)). Although pro se pleadings are held to
“less stringent standards than formal pleadings drafted by lawyers,” Haines v. Kerner,
404 U.S. 519, 520 (1972) (per curiam), “pro se litigants still must allege sufficient facts
in their complaints to support a claim,” Mala v. Crown Bay Marina, Inc.,
704 F.3d 239,
245 (3d Cir. 2013).
2
We agree with the District Court that Johnson failed to state a claim on which
relief could be granted under 28 U.S.C. § 1915. Johnson sued the defendant on the
grounds that the defendant had created “the world’s largest artificial sun blocking the real
sun” and thereby caused a heat wave. These allegations simply do not state a plausible
claim for relief. See
Iqbal, 556 U.S. at 679 (“Determining whether a complaint states a
plausible claim for relief will . . . be a context-specific task that requires the reviewing
court to draw on its judicial experience and common sense.”); cf. Denton v. Hernandez,
504 U.S. 25, 33 (1992) (ruling that a court may dismiss a complaint when the facts
alleged are “wholly incredible”). 1
Accordingly, we will affirm the judgment of the District Court.
1
The District Court did not err in dismissing Johnson’s complaint without giving her an
opportunity to amend because it is clear from her filings that amendment would have
been futile. See Grayson v. Mayview State Hosp.,
293 F.3d 103, 108 (3d Cir. 2002).
3