Case 5:06-cv-00156-TBR Document 21 Filed 03/06/09 Page 1 of 3 PageID #: 270
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`UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
`WESTERN DISTRICT OF KENTUCKY
`AT PADUCAH
`CIVIL ACTION NO. 5:06CV-156-R
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`ULYSSES S.G. DAVIS III
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`v.
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`PATTI TREAT et al.
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`PLAINTIFF
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`DEFENDANTS
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`MEMORANDUM OPINION
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`Plaintiff Ulysses S.G. Davis III filed this pro se action pursuant to 42 U.S.C. § 1983. His
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`complaint consists of a 153-page handwritten complaint and exhibits, which approximate two
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`inches in thickness and consist largely of grievances Plaintiff has filed over the past several
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`years. Plaintiff names 139 Defendants, the majority of which are Kentucky Department of
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`Corrections (KDOC) officials and employees and the remainder of which are former President
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`George W. Bush and other former members of the Executive Branch, including former Vice
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`President Dick Cheney and various former Cabinet members and Executive staff; a federal judge
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`in Virginia; FBI agents; Assistant United States Attorneys; and Governor Fletcher, Lt. Governor
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`Pence, various Kentucky Cabinet members, and the Kentucky Attorney General. The complaint
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`is disjointed, difficult to follow, and full of repetitive, broad allegations against “All
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`Defendants.”
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`Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 8(a) provides that:
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`A pleading that states a claim for relief must contain: (1) a short and plain statement
`of the grounds for the court’s jurisdiction, unless the court already has jurisdiction
`and the claim needs no new jurisdictional support; (2) a short and plain statement of
`the claim showing that the pleader is entitled to relief; and (3) a demand for the relief
`sought, which may include relief in the alternative or different types of relief.
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`Case 5:06-cv-00156-TBR Document 21 Filed 03/06/09 Page 2 of 3 PageID #: 271
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`Similarly, Rule 8(d)(1) specifies that “[e]ach allegation must be simple, concise, and direct.” As
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`explained by the Second Circuit:
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`The statement should be plain because the principal function of pleadings under the
`Federal Rules is to give the adverse party fair notice of the claim asserted so as to
`enable him to answer and prepare for trial . . . The statement should be short because
`unnecessary prolixity in a pleading places an unjustified burden on the court and the
`party who must respond to it because they are forced to select the relevant material
`from a mass of verbiage.
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`Salahuddin v. Cuomo, 861 F.2d 40, 42 (2d Cir. 1988).
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`On initial screening pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 1915(e)(2)(B) and McGore v.
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`Wrigglesworth, 114 F.3d 601 (6th Cir. 1997), the Court found that the complaint failed to
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`comply with the requirements of Rule 8. Specifically, the Court found that Plaintiff’s complaint
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`and attachments are diffuse, unorganized, and voluminous, and his complaint references page
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`after page of legal citations and repeatedly muddles allegations/claims. The Court additionally
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`had great difficulty finding any portion of the complaint that simply, concisely, and directly set
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`forth Plaintiff’s claims.
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`If a complaint is not short and plain, the Court has the power, on motion or sua sponte, to
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`strike any portions that are redundant or immaterial, or to dismiss the complaint. Salahuddin,
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`861 F.2d at 42. “Dismissal, however, is usually reserved for those cases in which the complaint
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`is so confused, ambiguous, vague or otherwise unintelligible that its true substance, if any, is
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`well disguised.” Id.
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`The Court determined that this is one of those instances where dismissal would be
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`warranted. Before dismissing the action, however, the Court provided the pro se Plaintiff with
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`30 days within which to file an amended complaint (DN 18). Plaintiff requested an extension of
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`time, which the Court granted by Order entered January 16, 2009 (DN 20). The Court directed
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`Case 5:06-cv-00156-TBR Document 21 Filed 03/06/09 Page 3 of 3 PageID #: 272
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`Plaintiff to file his amended complaint by February 27, 2009, and warned him that his failure to
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`comply would result in dismissal of the action for failure to comply with the requirements of
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`Rule 8.
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`A review of the record reveals that Plaintiff has failed to file an amended complaint with
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`this Court. Accordingly, the Court will, by separate Order, dismiss the instant complaint for the
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`reasons set forth more fully above for failure to comply with the requirements of Rule 8.
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`Date:
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`Plaintiff, pro se
`cc:
`4413.005
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