Scardino v. Southern-Owners Insurance Company

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT MIDDLE DISTRICT OF FLORIDA ORLANDO DIVISION MARIA SCARDINO, Plaintiff, v. Case No: 6:25-cv-919-JSS-LHP SOUTHERN-OWNERS INSURANCE COMPANY, JOHN DOES 1-5, JANE DOES 1-5, BLACK CORPORATIONS 1-5, and WHITE PARTNERSHIPS 1-5, Defendants. ___________________________________/ ORDER TO SHOW CAUSE Plaintiff purports to bring claims against twenty unidentified defendants named “John Does 1-5, Jane Does 105, Black Corporations 1-5, and White Partnerships 1- 5.” (Dkt. 1-3 at 6.) However, fictitious-party pleading is not allowed in federal court unless a plaintiff describes a defendant with enough specificity to make the description “at the very worst, surplusage.” Richardson v. Johnson, 598 F.3d 734, 738 (11th Cir. 2010) (citation and internal quotation marks omitted); see Kabbaj v. John Does 1-10, 600 F. App’x 638, 641 (11th Cir. 2015) (affirming district court’s dismissal of John Doe defendants where the plaintiff provided “no identifiable information” about them).

Here, Plaintiff offers no description of these unidentified defendants or how they are connected to Plaintiff’s alleged motor vehicle accident at issue in this case. (Dkt. 1-3 at 6–7.)

Accordingly, on or before June 24, 2025, Plaintiff SHALL SHOW CAUSE as to why Defendants John Does 1-5, Jane Does 105, Black Corporations 1-5, and White Partnerships 1-5 should not be dismissed from this case. Failure to respond to this order will result in dismissal of these Defendants without further notice.

ORDERED in Orlando, Florida, on June 12, 2025.

. i i= JUEKIE S. SNEED UNITED STATES DISTRICT JUDGE Copies furnished to: Counsel of Record -2-