Joshua Gonzalez v. Hyatt Hotels Corp.

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT MIDDLE DISTRICT OF FLORIDA TAMPA DIVISION

JOSHUA GONZALEZ, Plaintiff, v. Case No. 8:26-cv-284-JLB-AEP HYATT HOTELS CORP., Defendant. ________________________/ ORDER OF DISMISSAL Before the Court is a complaint filed by Joshua Gonzalez, a Florida pre- trial detainee at the time he initiated this action (Doc. 1). After screening the complaint under 28 U.S.C. § 1915(e)(2),1 the Court has determined that it must be dismissed without prejudice for failure to state a claim on which relief may be granted.

The complaint is essentially incomprehensible. In short, the nature of Gonzalez’s claims is not readily determinable from a review of his complaint.

When facing a situation like this, a court is not “required to comb through an incomprehensible pleading in order to cobble together a claim on Plaintiff’s behalf.” Gold v. Geo Gr., Inc., 2016 WL 7034404, at *4 (M.D. Fla. Dec. 2, The Court construes Gonzalez’s failure to pay the filing fee as a request to proceed in forma pauperis.

2016). Even in the case of pro se litigants, a court does not have a “license to serve as de facto counsel for a party, or to rewrite an otherwise deficient pleading in order to sustain an action.” GJR Invs. v. Cnty. Of Escambia, Fla., 132 F.3d 1359, 1369 (11th Cir. 1998) (citations omitted), overruled on other grounds by Randall v. Scott, 610 F.3d 701, 709 (11th Cir. 2010).

Accordingly, it is ORDERED: 1. This action is DISMISSED without prejudice. Because the dismissal is without prejudice, Gonzalez may pursue a new case by filing a proper complaint —not using this case number— and including the filing fee or motion to proceed in forma pauperis.

2. The Clerk is DIRECTED to terminate all motions as moot and close this case.

DONE and ORDERED in Tampa, Florida, on February 11, 2026.

JOHN L. BADALAMENTI UNITED STATES DISTRICT JUDGE