ROBERT L. WILKINS, District Judge.
Pro se Plaintiffs Richard Philip Kaufman and Michael Norley have filed this "Complaint on Contract and Promise on Value (Sweat Equity) Loaned" purportedly as relators on behalf of "The People of the State of Pennsylvania." Plaintiffs have named more than 60 Defendants, including the Internal Revenue Service ("IRS"), the Secretary of the Treasury, the chairman of the Federal Reserve, the entire Pennsylvania state court system, Pennsylvania state judges, federal judges and federal prosecutors. Plaintiffs make wholesale attacks on the legitimacy of the IRS, the Federal Reserve Bank, the U.S. treasury and system of currency, some state and federal courts, and other individuals or entities that Plaintiffs believe to be "acting as agents" for the IRS.
Defendants have moved to dismiss the Complaint under Rules 12(b)(1), (2), (5) and (6). For the reasons set forth below, this Court lacks subject matter jurisdiction to entertain Plaintiffs' suit. Accordingly, Defendants' Motions to Dismiss (Docket Nos. 4, 11, 52, 74, 75, & 76) are granted. Moreover, because Plaintiffs have abused the litigation process through their numerous improper filings, including signing and filing counterfeit orders as "common law magistrates" or "private attorney generals," Plaintiffs' CM/ECF privileges are revoked and they are enjoined from submitting any additional filings in this case without prior leave of the Court.
Although Plaintiffs are proceeding pro se, they are no strangers to the court system. Residents of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, Plaintiffs have between them filed at least 15 pro se suits in federal district and bankruptcy courts over the last ten years, almost all of which have been dismissed.
Plaintiffs have both been reprimanded for successive bankruptcy filings in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania seeking to, among other things, stop the foreclosure and sheriff's sales of their properties. Kaufman has already been ordered not to file any further bankruptcy cases without prior leave of that court. See Order, In re Kaufman, No. 08-13185 (Bankr.E.D.Pa. Aug. 27, 2008), ECF No. 38. In Plaintiff Norley's most recent bankruptcy filing, Norley "repeatedly" admitted that the sole reason he filed that case and "all but one of his prior bankruptcy cases was to prevent the [local municipality] from moving forward with the Sheriff's Sale of his real property or to stop other actions by [that municipality]." See Order at 7-8, In re Norley, No. 10-10436 (Bankr.E.D.Pa. Mar. 30, 2010), ECF No. 33. After holding an evidentiary hearing at which Norley was present, the Court ultimately found Norley had filed his bankruptcy case in bad faith, dismissed his case, and enjoined any future bankruptcy filings without leave of the court "to prevent [Norley's] continued abuse of the bankruptcy process." Id. at 7-10.
In August 2010, Plaintiff Kaufman was indicted in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania for, among other things, failure to file tax returns in violation of 26 U.S.C. § 7203, attempt to obstruct lawful function of Internal Revenue Service in violation of 26 U.S.C. § 7212(a), and making false claims in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 287. See Indictment, United States v. Kaufman, No. 10-cr-553 (E.D.Pa. Aug. 24, 2010), ECF No. 1. Approximately one month after he was indicted, Kaufman, along with Norley, filed this suit against the IRS and other Defendants "acting as agents" for the IRS.
In this case, Plaintiffs allege that Defendants, particularly the IRS, have fraudulently induced Plaintiffs into "involuntary servitude" (¶¶ 21, 30). Plaintiffs allege, among other things, that: 1) the IRS operates in the United States without disclosing that it is a "private" or "foreign usury" debt collector, and an "offshore trust maintained
Plaintiffs allege a wide conspiracy, including the IRS and the other Defendants, who have "routinely aided and abetted" the IRS (¶¶ 23(o), 30, 53). In addition to the IRS, the alleged conspiracy includes:
At its core, Plaintiffs' Complaint is a challenge to IRS' right to assess and collect taxes against them. It is also clear from the ultimate relief sought by Plaintiffs that one of — if not the — main purposes of Plaintiffs' suit is to frustrate the government's collection of taxes and to enjoin any criminal and civil prosecutions against them. Plaintiffs demand, inter alia, that: 1) Defendants "provide a full independent audit and accounting" of the IRS, DTC, DTCC, and Magisterial District Court to account for, among other things, "all books and records relating to legal fiction taxpayer accounts hypothecated from Plaintiffs' equity and credit, the origin of and authority for hypothecating the said accounts"; 2) a protective order be issued to immunize Plaintiffs from process from U.S. agencies, particularly the IRS; 3) all civil and criminal actions and legal action be enjoined against Plaintiffs; and 4) Defendants be ordered to "subscribe" to and certify as true Plaintiffs' "Bill of Particulars," a number of questions seeking to have Defendants admit many of Plaintiffs' claims and theories. (Compl. at 24-25).
Plaintiffs also claim the power to "issue orders to process this suit" (¶ 47). Accordingly, Plaintiffs have taken it upon themselves to issue orders in this case as "common law magistrates" and "private attorney generals." Plaintiffs have flooded this case with numerous such filings, such as a bond which Plaintiffs have filed in the amount of "One Trillion, Three Hundred Billion Dollars" as "consideration" apparently to dismiss the state criminal prosecutions against Plaintiffs and as "DEMAND TO CLOSE THE PUBLIC DEBT DOLLAR FOR DOLLAR [sic]" (Docket No. 109).
This Court is obligated to dismiss an action, and may do so sua sponte, if it determines "at any time" that it lacks subject matter jurisdiction. FED.R.CIV.P. 12(h)(3). In deciding a motion to dismiss for lack of subject matter jurisdiction, a district court may consider materials outside the pleadings. See Jerome Stevens
Although a pro se Plaintiff's complaint is held to a less stringent standard than formal pleadings drafted by lawyers, this does not give a pro se plaintiff license to ignore the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure or expect the Court to decide what claims a plaintiff may or may not want to assert. See Redwood v. Council of the District of Columbia, 679 F.2d 931, 933 (D.C.Cir.1982); Haines v. Kerner, 404 U.S. 519, 520, 92 S.Ct. 594, 30 L.Ed.2d 652 (1972); Jarrell v. Tisch, 656 F.Supp. 237, 239 (D.D.C.1987). Moreover, although pro se complaints are held to a less stringent standard, "even a pro se plaintiff bears the burden of establishing that the Court has subject matter jurisdiction." Curran v. Holder, 626 F.Supp.2d 30, 33 (D.D.C.2009) (internal quotation marks and citations omitted).
As this Circuit has recently held, a "complaint may be dismissed on jurisdictional grounds when it is patently insubstantial presenting no federal question suitable for decision." See Tooley v. Napolitano, 586 F.3d 1006, 1009 (D.C.Cir. 2009) (quoting Best v. Kelly, 39 F.3d 328, 330 (D.C.Cir.1994)); see also Hagans v. Lavine, 415 U.S. 528, 536-37, 94 S.Ct. 1372, 39 L.Ed.2d 577 (1974) ("[F]ederal courts are without power to entertain claims within their jurisdiction if they are so attenuated and unsubstantial as to be absolutely devoid of merit, wholly insubstantial, [or] obviously frivolous...."). Dismissal is appropriate, therefore, when the claims are "flimsier than doubtful or questionable ... essentially fictitious." Tooley, 586 F.3d at 1009 (internal quotation marks omitted). Patently insubstantial claims include those which are "`essentially fictitious' or advance `bizarre conspiracy theories,' `fantastic government manipulation of [one's] will or mind' or some type of `supernatural intervention.'" Wightman-Cervantes, 750 F.Supp.2d at 79 (quoting Best, 39 F.3d at 330-31).
In this case, Plaintiffs allege a wide conspiracy between the IRS and Defendants (many of whom are judges, law enforcement or other government officials who have been involved in Plaintiffs' Pennsylvania cases), stating that Defendants "have converted Plaintiffs' value sweat equity to private money by secretly issuing and trading bonds and similar private instruments hypothecated against Plaintiffs' future labor for enrichment of Defendants, thereby subjecting Plaintiffs to involuntary servitude." (¶ 30). Plaintiffs also allege that:
As described before, Plaintiffs have gone so far as to submit a bond in the amount of "one trillion dollars" to persuade the Court to discharge debt or issue judgments in Plaintiffs' favor. The Court has carefully reviewed Plaintiffs' Complaint and is satisfied that this case represents the type of "bizarre conspiracy theories," "frivolous," and "essentially fictitious" claims that are patently insubstantial and present "no federal question suitable for decision." Wightman-Cervantes, 750 F.Supp.2d at 79-80; see also Tooley, 586 F.3d at 1009-10; Curran, 626 F.Supp.2d at 33-34. As such, this Court dismisses Plaintiffs' Complaint under Rules 12(h)(3) and 12(b)(1).
For the reasons already stated, this Court lacks subject matter jurisdiction over Plaintiffs' patently insubstantial Complaint. Even assuming (as this Court will do given Plaintiffs' pro se status), however, that Plaintiffs' claims were not subject to dismissal for being patently insubstantial, dismissal would still be appropriate because this Court lacks subject matter jurisdiction to grant Plaintiffs the relief they seek.
First, to the extent that Plaintiffs seek it, this Court lacks subject matter jurisdiction to grant any declaratory relief. The power to grant declaratory relief in federal courts is governed by the Declaratory Judgment Act, 28 U.S.C. § 2201. The Act provides:
28 U.S.C. § 2201(a) (emphasis added).
Plaintiffs' claims for injunctive relief are also fruitless. Under the Tax Code's Anti-Injunction Act, "no suit for the purpose of restraining the assessment or collection of any tax shall be maintained in any court by any person, whether or not such person is the person against whom such tax was assessed." 26 U.S.C. § 7421; Foodservice & Lodging Institute, Inc. v. Regan, 809 F.2d 842, 844-45 (D.C.Cir. 1987).
Finally, Plaintiffs ask that this Court enjoin all civil and criminal actions against Plaintiffs pending this lawsuit. This Court, however, is a court of limited jurisdiction and does not have the authority to review other federal district courts or state courts or stay any and all cases pending against Plaintiffs. See 28 U.S.C. §§ 1331, 1332 (general jurisdiction provisions); § 2283 ("A court of the United States may not grant an injunction to stay proceedings in a State court except as expressly authorized by Act of Congress, or where necessary in aid of its jurisdiction, or to protect or effectuate its judgments."); Fleming v. United States, 847 F.Supp. 170, 172 (D.D.C.1994), cert. denied, 513 U.S. 1150, 115 S.Ct. 1099, 130 L.Ed.2d 1067 (1995); Leitner v. United States, 725 F.Supp.2d 36, 43 (D.D.C.2010) (holding that court lacks jurisdiction to grant injunctive and declaratory relief to enjoin Plaintiff's criminal tax proceedings or vacate Plaintiff's indictment in another district). Plaintiffs' claim, therefore, falls outside of this Court's limited jurisdiction.
On November 22, 2010, this Court granted Plaintiffs' Motion for CM/ECF accounts and passwords. Since that time, Plaintiffs have flooded this docket with numerous improper and unintelligible filings. As described briefly above, these include: 1) purported judgments, notices or "decree[s]" which Plaintiffs appear to be trying to pass off as binding Orders, having signed some of them as "magistrate," "common law magistrate" or "private attorney general" (Docket Nos. 110, 111, 117, 118, 123, 124, 128, 129, 130, 131, 136); and 2) notices, including Plaintiffs' submission of a "One Trillion Dollar" bond. With these improper filings, in which Plaintiffs attempt to pay debts, deposit bonds, curry favor with the Court or direct this Court to settle Plaintiffs' debts or return rulings favorable to Plaintiffs. (Docket Nos. 86, 93, 109, 113, 114, 119, 120, 121, 126, 127, 132, 133, 134).
It is well settled that this Court "may employ injunctive remedies to protect the integrity of courts and the orderly and expeditious administration of justice." Urban v. United Nations, 768 F.2d 1497, 1500 (D.C.Cir.1985). Having considered Plaintiffs' conduct in this case and the entire record, it is apparent that, through their improper filings, Plaintiffs are impeding the administration of justice and abusing
Finally, Plaintiffs are hereby enjoined from filing further submissions in this case without leave of Court. The Clerk shall not accept for filing any subsequent submissions (other than Plaintiffs' notice of appeal, if any) that do not include a separate motion for leave to file. Plaintiffs are admonished not to file any additional impertinent, improper, or frivolous submissions lest they be subjected to additional sanctions, including further restrictions on their filing privileges in this Court.
For the foregoing reasons, Plaintiffs' Complaint is DISMISSED, Plaintiffs' CM/ ECF passwords are revoked and they are enjoined from making any further filings in this case without leave of the Court. Because Plaintiffs' Complaint must be dismissed, Plaintiffs' pending motions, located at Docket Nos. 34, 35, 45, 56, 57, 81, 88, 90 and 92, are denied as moot. An Order accompanies this Memorandum.
SO ORDERED.
Construing Plaintiffs' "Notices of Joinder" as Motions for Joinder under Rule 19(a), this Court finds that the defendants' presence is unnecessary to the resolution of this suit. See FED.R.CIV.P. 19(a); Western Maryland Ry. Co. v. Harbor Ins. Co., 910 F.2d 960, 960 (D.C.Cir. 1990) ("When a party to a federal lawsuit moves to join a nonparty resisting joinder, the district court must answer three questions: Should the absentee be joined? If the absentee should be joined, can the absentee be joined? If the absentee cannot be joined, should the lawsuit proceed without her nonetheless?"); see also 7 WRIGHT, MILLER & KANE, FEDERAL PRACTICE & PROCEDURE § 1604 (3d ed. 2001) (stating that "the real purpose of this rule is to bring before the court all persons whose joinder would be desirable for a just adjudication of the action...."). Accordingly, all such Motions for Joinder are denied and all motions to dismiss filed by any of the defendants sought to be added through Plaintiffs' "Notices of Joinder" will be denied as moot. (Docket Nos. 85, 89 and 137).
Even assuming Plaintiffs had sought to amend their Complaint under Rule 15, such amendments would have been denied as futile for the reasons set forth in this Opinion. See James Madison Ltd. v. Ludwig, 82 F.3d 1085, 1099 (D.C.Cir.1996) (stating that Court may deny a motion to amend a complaint as futile if the proposed complaint would not survive a motion to dismiss).