Ivanov v. United States

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT FOR THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA MYKHAILO S. IVANOV, ) ) Plaintiff, ) ) v. ) Civil Action No. 25-2435 (UNA) ) U.S.A., ) ) Defendant. ) MEMORANDUM OPINION This matter is before the Court on the plaintiff’s application to proceed in forma pauperis and pro se civil complaint. The application will be granted, and the complaint will be dismissed for lack of subject matter jurisdiction.

“Article III of the United States Constitution limits the judicial power to deciding ‘Cases and Controversies.’” In re Navy Chaplaincy, 534 F.3d 756, 759 (D.C. Cir. 2008) (quoting U.S. Const. art. III, § 2), cert. denied, 556 U.S. 1167 (2009). “One element of the case-or-controversy requirement is that plaintiffs must establish that they have standing to sue.” Comm. on Judiciary of U.S. House of Representatives v. McGahn, 968 F.3d 755, 762 (D.C. Cir. 2020) (citations and internal quotation marks omitted). A party has standing for purposes of Article III if he has “(1) suffered an injury in fact, (2) that is fairly traceable to the challenged conduct of the defendant, and (3) that is likely to be redressed by a favorable judicial decision.” Id. at 763 (quoting Lujan v. Defenders of Wildlife, 504 U.S. 555, 560 (1992)).

The plaintiff allegedly is the victim of sexual assault, domestic violence, and unspecified hate crime. Compl. (ECF No. 1) at 4 (page numbers designated by CM/ECF). Even after having been granted asylum in the United States in 2020, see generally id., Ex. (ECF No. 1-2), the plaintiff allegedly has “a credible fear of persecution or torture in the U.S.A.” Id. at 4. Missing from the complaint are any factual allegations demonstrating that the plaintiff has sustained, or is likely to sustain, an injury of any kind. Nor are there factual allegations that the defendant has committed, or likely will commit, an action causing the plaintiff injury. Without such allegations, the plaintiff does not establish standing, and, therefore, the Court lacks subject matter jurisdiction over his claims.

An Order is issued separately.

/s/ ANA C. REYES United States District Judge DATE: December 31, 2025