JEROME B. SIMANDLE, Chief District Judge.
This is a case filed by pro se Plaintiffs Kevin Dougherty and Keith Dougherty arising from state court divorce and child custody proceedings in the Superior Court of New Jersey, Family Division to which Kevin Dougherty was a party. Presently before the Court are several motions. The Defendants have all moved to dismiss the Complaint [Docket Items 51, 55, 57 & 66]. In addition, Plaintiffs have moved for default judgment [Docket Item 50] and to strike certain briefs filed by Defendants [Docket Items 56, 58 & 68]. For the reasons that follow, the Court will grant the three motions to dismiss and will deny Plaintiffs' motion for default judgment. Plaintiffs' motions to strike will also be denied. The Court finds as follows:
1. Plaintiffs' nearly incomprehensible and rambling Complaint arises out of state court divorce and child custody proceedings in the Superior Court of New Jersey, Family Division to which Kevin Dougherty and Tracey Adams-Dougherty were parties. Kevin Dougherty and Ms. Adams-Dougherty have four children together and were married until sometime in 2015, when it appears that divorce proceedings commenced. Kevin Dougherty and Keith Dougherty are brothers. Kenneth and Dori Adams are Ms. Adams-Dougherty's parents. Jack Duggan's PHL, Inc., also known as Jack Dugan's Pub, is a business owned by Mr. Adams, Ms. Adams-Dougherty, and others.
2. Plaintiffs appear to allege that Ms. Adams-Dougherty and her parents have conspired with the Voorhees Municipal Courts and police to harm Kevin Dougherty. Plaintiffs assert that Mr. and Mrs. Adams have conspired to alienate Kevin Dougherty from his children and from his brother, Keith; to keep him from working outside his home; and to thwart the equitable distribution of Kevin Dougherty and Ms. Adams-Dougherty's assets in their divorce proceedings.
3. It appears that on September 17, 2015, the Honorable Michael Diamond, a Voorhees Township municipal judge, entered a Temporary Restraining Order in favor of Ms. Adams-Dougherty and against Kevin Dougherty, removing him from their marital home. Plaintiffs allege that Officer Anthony Del Palazzo coached Ms. Adams-Dougherty into making false accusations against Kevin Dougherty at that hearing, and that Judge Diamond and Debra Bradshaw, the Voorhees evidence coordinator, conspired to violate his constitutional rights by withholding "discovery" material and entering the TRO. Kevin Dougherty also alleges that he appeared before the Honorable Mary Beth Kramer, J.S.C., on September 22, 2015, for a TRO hearing at which she unconstitutionally restricted his visitation rights with his children without first holding a probable cause hearing.
4. On October 7, 2015, Plaintiffs filed a Complaint in the Eastern District of Pennsylvania against Tracey Adams-Dougherty, Jack Duggan's PHL, Inc., Jack Dugan's Pub, Kenneth Adams, Dori Adams, Judge Michael Diamond (in his official capacity), Anthony Del Palazzo (in his personal and official capacity), Debra Bradshaw (in her official capacity), Voorhees Township (as a
5. After the Plaintiffs filed motions for default and the Defendants filed motions to dismiss, the Honorable Eduardo C. Robreno, United Stated District Judge of the Eastern District of Pennsylvania ordered that this case should be transferred to the District of New Jersey in "the interest of justice." [Docket Item 40.] The parties then filed the several motions before this Court, which the Court now decides on the papers without oral argument pursuant to Fed. R. Civ. P. 78.
6. A party may move under Fed. R. Civ. P. 12(b)(1) to dismiss a complaint for lack of jurisdiction. Because federal courts are courts of limited jurisdiction, the party seeking to invoke the court's jurisdiction bears the burden of proving the existence of subject matter jurisdiction.
7. When considering a motion to dismiss a complaint for failure to state a claim upon which relief can be granted under Fed. R. Civ. P. 12(b)(6), a court must accept all well-pleaded allegations in the complaint as true and view them in the light most favorable to the nonmoving party. A motion to dismiss may be granted only if a court concludes that the plaintiff has failed to set forth fair notice of what the claim is and the grounds upon which it rests that make such a claim plausible on its face.
8. Although the court must accept as true all wellpleaded factual allegations, it may disregard any legal conclusions in the complaint.
9. Plaintiffs appear to bring claims against Defendants Judge Michael Diamond, Anthony Del Palazzo, Debra Bradshaw, and Voorhees Township (collectively, "the Voorhees Defendants") for violations of § 1983 and RICO; common law claims for defamation, intentional infliction of emotional distress, and malicious prosecution; and for preliminary injunctions against Judge Diamond to vacate his restraining order barring Kevin Dougherty from his home and against Ms. Bradshaw to release files related to the Voorhees municipal court proceedings. The Voorhees Defendants move to dismiss the Complaint for lack of subject matter jurisdiction, for failure to state a claim upon which relief can be granted, and for insufficient service of process. For the reasons that follow, the Court will grant the Voorhees Defendants' motion and will dismiss all claims in the Complaint against them.
10. First, all claims brought by Plaintiff Keith Dougherty must be dismissed because he lacks standing to assert any of the claims alleged in the Complaint. "Article III of the United States Constitution limits the jurisdiction of federal courts to Cases and Controversies, U.S. Const. Art. III, § 2."
11. Next, all claims against Judge Diamond must be dismissed as he is immune from civil liability for actions taken in his judicial capacity. As a general rule, judges acting in their judicial capacity are absolutely immune (in both their individual and official capacities) from suit under the doctrine of judicial immunity.
12. The Court will also dismiss Plaintiffs' requests for injunctive relief against the Voorhees Defendants. First, to the extent that they seek to vacate the TRO entered against Kevin Dougherty by Judge Diamond, this request violates the
13. Assuming that state court proceedings have concluded, the
14. Second, to the extent that Plaintiffs seek a preliminary injunction to force Ms. Bradshaw to release files, Plaintiffs have not shown that they are entitled to such extraordinary relief. "The decision to grant or deny . . . injunctive relief is an act of equitable discretion by the district court."
15. Although all four factors guide a court's inquiry, a court will not grant injunctive relief, "regardless of what the equities seem to require," unless the movant successfully demonstrates the first and second factors.
16. Plaintiffs' § 1983 and RICO claims against Officer Del Palazzo and Ms. Bradshaw must be also dismissed because Plaintiffs have failed to state a claim upon which relief may be granted, as next discussed, as next discussed.
17. Section 1983 provides in relevant part:
42 U.S.C. § 1983. To state a claim for relief under section 1983, a plaintiff must allege: 1) the violation of a right secured by the Constitution or laws of the United States and 2) that the alleged deprivation was committed or caused by a person acting under color of state law.
18. Plaintiffs allege in the Complaint that Defendants violated Kevin Dougherty's rights under the First, Fourth, and Fourteenth Amendments, but fail to describe which specific rights Defendants allegedly violated, and what specific conduct allegedly violated those rights. To merely allege "violation of `constitutional protections' to include 1st, .4th [sic] and 14th amendment protections" (Compl. at I) without more detail is insufficient to state a claim under the pleading scheme established by Fed. R. Civ. P. 8(a) and
19. Moreover, even if these allegations concerning Officer Del Palazzo and Ms. Bradshaw were sufficiently detailed and the Court were obliged to accept them as true, these assertions still do not set forth violations of any constitutional rights. Kevin Dougherty is not entitled to more "due process" at his TRO hearing as a matter of law from Officer Del Palazzo, when it appears that Kevin Dougherty was given notice of the hearing and an opportunity to be heard. He has received the process that is constitutionally due. Similarly, Kevin Dougherty has not set forth any basis for his assertion that he has a legally cognizable interest in the records Ms. Bradshaw has allegedly withheld, and the Court can glean none from Plaintiffs' Complaint. Accordingly, Plaintiffs' § 1983 claims fail as a matter of law and will be dismissed.
20. To plead a violation of RICO, 18 U.S.C. § 1961 et seq., a plaintiff must allege "(1) conduct (2) of an enterprise (3) through a pattern (4) of racketeering activity."
21. The Court cannot discern from the Complaint what predicate acts of racketeering activity Officer Del Palazzo and Ms. Bradshaw allegedly committed; at most, the Court gleans a single allegation of witness tampering. Although 18 U.S.C. § 1512(b)(1), the federal witness tampering statute, appears on the list of predicate offenses in § 1961(1), it is inapplicable here. Section 1512(b)(1) punishes threats or intimidation with the intent to influence the testimony of any person "in an official proceeding," but "official proceedings" within the meaning of the statute do not apply to state court proceedings. 18 U.S.C. § 1515(a);
22. Finally, Plaintiffs' § 1983 claim against Voorhees Township must also be dismissed. It is well-established that municipal liability under § 1983 "may not be proven under the
23. In the absence of any federal cause of action against the Voorhees Defendants, the Court will decline to exercise supplemental jurisdiction over Plaintiffs' remaining defamation, intentional infliction of emotional distress, and malicious prosecution claims and will dismiss these claims for a lack of subject matter jurisdiction. The Third Circuit has recognized that where all federal claims are dismissed before trial, "the district court
24. For these reasons, the Court will grant the Voorhees' Defendants' motion to dismiss in its entirety and will dismiss all claims against these Defendants.
25. Plaintiffs bring claims against Ms. Adams-Dougherty, Mr. Adams, Mrs. Adams, Jack Duggan's PHL, Inc., and Jack Dugan's Pub (collectively, "the Adams Family Defendants") for violations of § 1983 and RICO; common law claims for defamation and intentional infliction of emotional distress; and for a preliminary injunction seeking "immediate review of the Books and Tax Returns for the [Jack Duggans PHL Inc.]" [sic]. The Adams Family Defendants move to dismiss the Complaint for failure to state a claim. For the reasons that follow, the Court will grant the Adams Family Defendants' motion and dismiss the claims against them.
26. Plaintiffs' claims that the Adams Family Defendants violated § 1983 will be dismissed. Again, to state a claim for relief under section 1983, a plaintiff must allege: 1) the violation of a right secured by the Constitution or laws of the United States and 2) that the alleged deprivation was committed or caused by a person acting under color of state law.
27. Similarly, Plaintiffs' claims that the Adams Family Defendants committed a RICO conspiracy will be dismissed. As above, to plead a violation of RICO, 18 U.S.C. § 1961 et seq., a plaintiff must allege "(1) conduct (2) of an enterprise (3) through a pattern (4) of racketeering activity."
28. The Adams Family Defendants also move to dismiss Jack Duggan's PHL, Inc. and Jack Dugan's Pub as Defendants in this action because Plaintiffs bring no claims against the companies "other than a demand to access to the business records maintained by Jack Duggan's PHL, Inc." (Def. Br. at 10.) Because the Complaint contains no factual allegations of wrongdoing by these companies, and instead seeks extraordinary relief from them to which Plaintiffs have not demonstrated entitlement (
29. In the absence of any federal cause of action against the Adams Family Defendants, the Court will decline to exercise supplemental jurisdiction over Plaintiffs' remaining defamation and intentional infliction of emotional distress claims and will dismiss these claims for a lack of subject matter jurisdiction,
30. For these reasons, the Court will grant the Adams Family Defendants' motion to dismiss in its entirety and will dismiss all claims against these Defendants.
31. Plaintiffs appear to claim that Judge Mary Beth Kramer violated Kevin Dougherty's constitutional rights and caused emotional distress when she restricted his visitation rights with his children "without probable cause." Judge Kramer moves to dismiss the Complaint for Keith Dougherty's lack of standing, the Younger Abstention doctrine, the
32. Like Judge Diamond, Judge Kramer is entitled to absolute judicial immunity from suit over conduct taken in her judicial capacity. Because Plaintiffs' claims against Judge Kramer appear to arise from her conduct as a Judge of the Superior Court in entering a temporary restraining order against Kevin Dougherty restricting his visitation rights with his children, Judge Kramer is entitled to immunity for this conduct. Accordingly, all of Plaintiffs' claims against Judge Kramer will be dismissed.
33. The Court will also dismiss Plaintiffs' request for injunctive relief to the extent that they seek to vacate the restraining order entered against Kevin Dougherty by Judge Kramer restricting his visitation rights. As described above, this relief is barred by operation of either the
34. For these reasons, the Court will grant Defendant Judge Kramer's motion and will dismiss all claims against her.
35. The dismissal of the Complaint, in its entirety and as to all Defendants in this case, will operate with prejudice as to all federal claims. A Court may dismiss an action with prejudice and deny Plaintiffs leave to amend where it is apparent that "(1) the moving party has demonstrated undue delay, bad faith or dilatory motives, (2) the amendment would be futile, or (3) the amendment would prejudice the other party."
36. Also pending before this Court is Plaintiffs' motion for entry of default judgment pursuant to Fed. R. Civ. P. 55(b) against the "Adams defendants." [Docket Item 50.] Rule 55 provides that the clerk of court must enter default against a party against whom affirmative relief is sought, where that party "has failed to plead or otherwise defend, and that failure is shown by affidavit or otherwise." Fed. R. Civ. P. 55(a). Once default has been entered, a plaintiff may seek default judgment under Rule 55(b), but the process by which that happens depends on the circumstances. If the plaintiff's claim is "for a sum certain," he may make a motion directed to the clerk of court and provide an affidavit establishing the amount of the claim, and the clerk "must enter judgment for that amount and costs against a defendant who has been defaulted for not appearing." Fed. R. Civ. P. 55(b)(1). In all other cases, where the exact amount of monetary damages is unclear, the plaintiff must apply to the Court for default judgment. Fed. R. Civ. P. 55(b)(2). Default judgments are generally disfavored by the Third Circuit Court of Appeals, and courts prefer to adjudicate a case on its merits.
37. Plaintiffs' motion for default judgment is even harder to comprehend than their Complaint, and Plaintiffs have not set forth their entitlement to relief under Fed. R. Civ. P. 55(a) or (b). So far as the Court can discern, it appears that Plaintiffs contest the failure of the respective Clerks of Court for the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania and for the United States District Court for the District of New Jersey to enter default and default judgment against these Defendants. For reasons that evade this Court's understanding, Plaintiffs contend that the Clerk of Court's inaction constitutes "constitutional treason." Plaintiffs also appear to challenge in their motion this District's "ECF Policy," referring to electronic case filing.
38. Plaintiffs are not entitled to entry of default against the Adams Family Defendants because it is not clear that they have failed to plead or otherwise defend this action in a timely fashion. Plaintiffs originally moved for default under Rule 55(a) against the Adams Family Defendants on November 2, 2015 [Docket Item 8] while this case was pending before Judge Robreno of the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania, which the Adams Family Defendants opposed. [Docket Item 32.] Judge Robreno denied Plaintiff's motion for default on November 25, 2015. [Docket Item 40.] In that Order, Judge Robreno ordered the Adams Family Defendants to move or otherwise respond to the Complaint by December 3, 2015, and at the same time transferred the case to the United States District Court for the District of New Jersey. After Judge Robreno's Order, but before transfer to this District was completed, the Adams Family Defendants timely filed their first motion to dismiss on November 28, 2015. [Docket Item 41.] These defendants were not in default.
39. The Court cannot say that the Adams Family Defendants have failed to plead or otherwise defend this action where they have twice filed motions to dismiss the Complaint: first within the time allotted by Judge Robreno's November 25 Order, and second, shortly after the Adams Family Defendants acquired new defense counsel eligible to practice law in the state of New Jersey. [
40. Accordingly, the Court will deny Plaintiffs' motion for default judgment.
41. Finally, also pending before this Court are three motions to strike [Docket Items 56, 58 & 68] the motions to dismiss filed by the Adams Family Defendants, the Voorhees Defendants, and Judge Kramer. By their motions, Plaintiffs also seek Rule 11 sanctions against unnamed parties and attorneys.
An accompanying order will be entered.
The Court will not consider as part of the allegations in the Complaint Plaintiffs' "unsworn declarations under penalty of perjury" attached to the Complaint. This document does not comply with L. Civ. R. 7.2(a), the Local Rule governing the use of affidavits, declarations, certifications, and other similar documents. The rule limits declarations to "statements of fact within the personal knowledge of the signatory" and permits the Court to disregard arguments of fact and law contained in such a document. Plaintiffs' unintelligible, argumentative declaration appears to contain little more than conclusory and speculative assertions and it must therefore be disregarded.