RUDOLPH CONTRERAS, District Judge.
Plaintiff, appearing pro se, has sued the federal government, Homewood Suites by Hilton, and Hilton's President and Chief Executive Officer for equitable relief and monetary damages. The complaint arises from actions taken by the Federal Emergency Management Agency ("FEMA") under the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act ("Stafford Act").
Plaintiff is one of thousands of individuals forced to evacuate Puerto Rico after Hurricane Maria struck the island on September 20, 2017.
Plaintiff alleges that in January 2018 while residing at Homewood Suites, he was diagnosed with prostate cancer and received treatment at the Veterans Affairs Medical Center in the District. He was scheduled for surgery on July 12, 2018, and needed a minimum of six weeks to recover. See Compl. at 2, 4. Allegedly in January 2018, a "functionary of FEMA" named "Mr. Ortega" told plaintiff that he had "authority delegated by FEMA" and not to "worry" because "FEMA extended [plaintiff's] time at Homewood Suites . . . until February 15, 2018 and will automatically [extend it] 6 more months[.]" Compl. at 4 ¶ 6. Mr. Ortega also told plaintiff that FEMA was aware of his economic situation and was "willing to give [him] 8 months or more" of temporary housing at Homewood Suites to allow him time to find an apartment and "permanently stay in Washington D.C." Id.
On June 28, 2018, two days before the TSA program was to expire, plaintiff filed this pro se action.
Federal courts are courts of limited jurisdiction, and the law presumes that "a cause lies outside this limited jurisdiction [.]" Kokkonen v. Guardian Life Ins. Co. of Am., 511 U.S. 375, 377 (1994); see also Gen. Motors Corp. v. E.P.A., 363 F.3d 442, 448 (D.C. Cir. 2004) ("As a court of limited jurisdiction, we begin, and end, with an examination of our jurisdiction."). It is the plaintiff's burden to establish that the court has subject matter jurisdiction. Lujan v. Defenders of Wildlife, 504 U.S. 555, 561 (1992).
Because subject matter jurisdiction focuses on the Court's power to hear a claim, the Court must give the plaintiff's factual allegations closer scrutiny than would be required for a 12(b)(6) motion for failure to state a claim. See Grand Lodge of Fraternal Order of Police v. Ashcroft, 185 F.Supp.2d 9, 13-14 (D.D.C. 2001). Thus, the Court is not limited to the allegations contained in the complaint. See Wilderness Soc'y v. Griles, 824 F.2d 4, 16 n.10 (D.C. Cir. 1987). Instead, "where necessary, the court may consider the complaint supplemented by undisputed facts evidenced in the record, or the complaint supplemented by undisputed facts plus the court's resolution of disputed facts." Herbert v. Nat'l Acad. of Scis., 974 F.2d 192, 197 (D.C. Cir. 1992) (citing Williamson v. Tucker, 645 F.2d 404, 413 (5th Cir. 1981)).
Article III of the Constitution limits the jurisdiction of the federal courts to "Cases" and "Controversies." U.S. Const. art. 3, § 2. The doctrines of standing, mootness, and ripeness are "[t]hree inter-related" doctrines of justiciability that determine the "constitutional boundaries" of a court's jurisdiction. Jeong Seon Han v. Lynch, 223 F.Supp.3d 95, 102 (D.D.C. 2016) (quoting Worth v. Jackson, 451 F.3d 854, 855, 857 (D.C. Cir. 2006)). The D.C. Circuit has explained that "`[f]ederal courts lack jurisdiction to decide moot cases because their constitutional authority extends only to actual cases or controversies.'" Larsen v. U.S. Navy, 525 F.3d 1, 4 (D.C. Cir. 2008) (quoting Iron Arrow Honor Soc'y v. Heckler, 464 U.S. 67, 70 (1983)). A case becomes "`moot when the issues presented are no longer live or the parties lack a legally cognizable interest in the outcome.'" Id. at 3 (quoting County of Los Angeles v. Davis, 440 U.S. 625, 631 (1979)); see accord Del Monte Fresh Produce Co. v. United States, 570 F.3d 316, 321 (D.C. Cir. 2009) (explaining that a "case is moot when the challenged conduct ceases such that there is no reasonable expectation that the wrong will be repeated in circumstances where it becomes impossible for the court to grant any effectual relief whatever to the prevailing party") (internal quotation marks and citations omitted)).
Plaintiff's claims for injunctive and mandamus relief became moot in September 2018 when the TSA program for Puerto Rican evacuees expired and plaintiff moved to the Cambridge Apartments, apparently from Homewood Suites.
As indicated above, plaintiff seeks at least $5 million in damages from the government. See Compl. at 1; Pl.'s Opp'n to Mot. to Dismiss at 2, ECF No. 16 (requesting payment of "40 million dollars plus interests 7% monthly[ ] from January 10, 2018"). This claim is best interpreted as one for breach of contract based upon Mr. Ortega's alleged assurances to plaintiff as a "FEMA functionary."
For the foregoing reasons, the government's motion to dismiss for want of subject matter jurisdiction is granted. A separate order accompanies this Memorandum Opinion.