Asia Johnson v. Young Money

U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit

Asia Johnson v. Young Money

Opinion

CLD-012 NOT PRECEDENTIAL

UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS FOR THE THIRD CIRCUIT ___________

No. 18-2330 ___________

ASIA JOHNSON, Appellant

v.

YOUNG MONEY ____________________________________

On Appeal from the United States District Court for the Western District of Pennsylvania (D.C. Civil Action No. 18-cv-00605) District Judge: Honorable Joy Flowers Conti ____________________________________

Submitted for Possible Dismissal Pursuant to

28 U.S.C. § 1915

(e)(2)(B) or Summary Action Pursuant to Third Circuit LAR 27.4 and I.O.P. 10.6 October 18, 2018

Before: CHAGARES, RESTREPO and SCIRICA, Circuit Judges

(Opinion filed December 20, 2018) _________

OPINION* _________

PER CURIAM

* This disposition is not an opinion of the full Court and pursuant to I.O.P. 5.7 does not constitute binding precedent. Asia Johnson appeals the District Court’s dismissal of her action as legally

frivolous pursuant to

28 U.S.C. § 1915

(e)(2)(B)(i). Because we conclude that this appeal

lacks arguable merit, we will dismiss it pursuant to § 1915(e)(2)(B)(i).

Johnson’s complaint named Young Money as a defendant, identifying herself as a

resident of Pennsylvania and Young Money as a resident of Texas, and asserting federal

court diversity of citizenship jurisdiction under

28 U.S.C. § 1332

. Johnson alleged that

“Baby E from Young Money has been making music about me. Baby E and I used to date

befor his identity change his police uncle helped with he fake his death and I being

harassed and Nicki Minaj keeps using my work Baby E (Victor Robinson) needs help

slaves to the label to harass me having people jump me and follow me.” (Complaint, ¶III

Statement of Claim.) As relief, Johnson stated, “I just want them to stop and let the truth

be told. Stop helping people fake deaths and stop the 2 girls they picked to be my actors

using artificial intelligence Kenneka Jenkins and BreeAunna Poindexter the industry is

involved.” (Id., ¶IV Relief.)1 Johnson also filed a motion for leave to proceed in forma

pauperis. The District Court granted Johnson’s in forma pauperis motion. By

memorandum opinion and separate order entered on May 16, 2018, the District Court

dismissed the complaint sua sponte as frivolous under

28 U.S.C. § 1915

(e)(2)(B)(i). The

District Court further concluded that amendment of the complaint would be futile.

Johnson appeals.

1 As an exhibit to the complaint, Johnson attached a letter and a certificate dated April 25, 2018, written on behalf of President Donald J. Trump, concerning Johnson’s inclusion in the Republican Presidential Honor Roll. 2 We have appellate jurisdiction pursuant to

28 U.S.C. § 1291

. We exercise plenary

review over the District Court’s dismissal of Johnson’s complaint as frivolous. See

Roman v. Jeffes,

904 F.2d 192, 194

(3d Cir. 1990). The District Court determined that

Johnson’s claims and relief sought are based on a fantastic or delusional factual scenario,

see Neitzke v. Williams,

490 U.S. 319, 327-28

(1989), concluding that the complaint was

frivolous within the meaning of § 1915(e)(2)(B). See Neitzke,

490 U.S. at 325

(a

complaint is frivolous if it “lacks an arguable basis either in law or in fact”). We agree

with the District Court’s assessment of the allegations contained in the complaint.

Moreover, while generally a plaintiff should be granted leave to cure the deficiencies of a

complaint subject to dismissal, we agree with the District Court’s determination that such

allowance would have been futile in this case. See Grayson v. Mayview State Hosp.,

293 F.3d 103, 108

(3d Cir. 2002).

For the above reasons, we will we will dismiss the appeal pursuant to

28 U.S.C. § 1915

(e)(2)(B)(i).

3

Reference

Status
Unpublished