United States District Court, C.D. Illinois, Springfield Division
OPINION
SUE E.
MYERSCOUGH UNITED STATES DISTRICT JUDGE.
This
matter comes before the Court on the Application to Proceed
in District Court Without Prepaying Fees or Costs (d/e 2).
This is one of four cases Plaintiff Cheryl Savage has filed
in in this Court during the month of August
2019.[1] Plaintiff has not paid the filing fee but
has filed an affidavit demonstrating she is unable to prepay
fees or costs associated with filing this action. Therefore,
the Application to Proceed in District Court Without
Prepaying Fees or Costs is GRANTED.
This
Court must dismiss any case brought in forma pauperis if the
case fails to state a claim for which relief may be granted.
28 U.S.C. § 1915(e)(2)(B)(ii). Because Plaintiff lacks
standing to bring this claim, the Complaint is dismissed
without prejudice.
I.
FACTUAL ALLEGATIONS
In
reviewing the Complaint, the Court accepts the factual
allegations as true, liberally construing them in
Plaintiff's favor. Turley v. Rednour, 729 F.3d
645, 649 (7th Cir. 2013). However, conclusory statements and
labels are insufficient. Enough facts must be provided to
"'state a claim for relief that is plausible on its
face.'" Alexander v. U.S., 721 F.3d 418,
422 (7th Cir. 2013) (quoted cite omitted). The following
facts come from the Complaint.
Ms.
Savage names as Defendants in the caption of her lawsuit
Premier Bank of Jacksonville (Premier Bank); Town and Country
Bank of Jacksonville (Town and Country); Paul White, former
CEO of Premier Bank and president of Town and County; and
Eddie Carpenter, an attorney with Premier Bank. Plaintiff
alleges that Premier Bank started a foreclosure against
Plaintiff in April 2011. By the end of 2012, Plaintiff did
not have the money to pay Premier Bank. Premier Bank started
bullying Plaintiff's daughter and her daughter's
husband, Jill and Andrew Frost, with phone calls to “do
something about it or else.” In January 2013, Jill was
served a fraudulent judgment and had to go to court. Jill
became ill with stomach aches and had her uterus removed by
the end of 2013. Jill Frost died in July 2015. Premier Bank
finally dismissed the Frosts from the case in July 2016.
Plaintiff describes her injuries as follows:
Fraudulently served Jill Frost with Motion for default
judgment 1-2-2014. Jill Frost became ill. By Oct 2013, had
uteri[ne] Cancer. Plaintiff's attorney filed to dismiss
Frosts from Plaintiff's Foreclosure 5/22/2014. Jill died
7/29/2015 & Bank dismisses Frosts 5/5/2016.
Plaintiff
seeks compensatory damages of $3 million and punitive
damages. The Civil Cover Sheet identifies the causes of
action as “Truth in Lending, etc.” and
“Abusive mortgage violations of the TILA, OCC, CFPB
etc.” The Complaint form itself invokes jurisdiction
under 28 U.S.C. §1331, 28 U.S.C. § 1343(a)(3),
and/or 42 U.S.C. § 1983.
II.
ANALYSIS
Plaintiff
does not have standing to bring this claim. A federal
court's jurisdiction is limited to “Cases”
and “Controversies, ” and no case or controversy
exists if the plaintiff lacks standing. U.S. Const. art. III,
§ 2; Johnson v. U.S. Office of Pers. Mgmt., 783
F.3d 655, 660 (7th Cir. 2015). A plaintiff establishes
standing by showing (1) that she suffered an injury that is
(a) concrete and particularized and (b) actual or imminent;
(2) the injury is fairly traceable to the challenged action
of the defendant; and (3) that it is likely that a favorable
decision will redress the injury. Berger v. Nat'l
Collegiate Athletic Ass'n, 843 F.3d 285, 289 (7th
Cir. 2016). A plaintiff generally must assert her own legal
rights and interests and cannot rest her claim to relief on
the legal rights or interests of third parties. Swanson
v. City of Chetek, 719 F.3d 780, 783 (7th Cir. 2013).
Here,
Plaintiff alleges various harms suffered by Jill Frost.
Plaintiff does not allege that she suffered any injury from
the alleged conduct by Defendants. Therefore, the Court
dismisses this case without prejudice for lack of
jurisdiction.
IT
IS THEREFORE ORDERED THAT:
(1) The
Application to Proceed in District Court Without Prepaying
...