Piper Ellis Snowton v. USA, et al, No. 19-10709 (5th Cir. 2019)
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Case: 19-10709 Document: 00515220984 Page: 1 Date Filed: 12/03/2019 IN THE UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS FOR THE FIFTH CIRCUIT United States Court of Appeals Fifth Circuit No. 19-10709 Summary Calendar FILED December 3, 2019 Lyle W. Cayce Clerk PIPER LAKAY ELLIS SNOWTON, Plaintiff - Appellant v. UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, doing business as United States Department of Health and Human Services; ALEX M. AZAR, II, SECRETARY, U.S. DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES, Defendants - Appellees Appeal from the United States District Court for the Northern District of Texas USDC No. 3:19-CV-981 Before HIGGINBOTHAM, HO, and ENGELHARDT, Circuit Judges. PER CURIAM:* Plaintiff-appellant Piper Lakay Ellis Snowton, appeals the district court’s dismissal of her claims against the defendants. Because Snowton’s complaint is frivolous, we AFFIRM. Pursuant to 5TH CIR. R. 47.5, the court has determined that this opinion should not be published and is not precedent except under the limited circumstances set forth in 5TH CIR. R. 47.5.4. * Case: 19-10709 Document: 00515220984 Page: 2 Date Filed: 12/03/2019 No. 19-10709 Snowton, proceeding pro se and in forma pauperis, filed a complaint against the United States, the Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS), and DHHS Secretary Alex Azar, II, alleging that the Department of Health and Human Services and various healthcare agencies are wrongfully withholding her medical information and providing her with misleading or inaccurate medical information. Snowton alleges that she is HIV positive, but defendants have conspired with various medical labs across a number of states to withhold that information. Further, she asserts that defendants are “deliberately refusing to investigate and enforce laws” because “there is unlawful experimentation of implants, disease and false claims involved.” The district court found that “even under the most liberal construction, Plaintiff’s allegations describe irrational or wholly incredible claims against Defendants.” The district court dismissed the complaint as frivolous pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 1915(e). Snowton appealed. An in forma pauperis claim may properly be dismissed when the “facts alleged are ‘clearly baseless,’” encompassing allegations that “rise to the level of the irrational or the wholly incredible.” Denton v. Hernandez, 504 U.S. 25, 32–33 (1992) (quoting Neitzke v. Williams, 490 U.S. 319, 327–28 (1989)); see also 28 U.S.C. § 1915(e)(2)(B)(i). We find no error in the district court’s decision to dismiss Snowton’s claims as frivolous, which we review for abuse of discretion. Denton, 504 U.S. at 33. AFFIRMED. 2
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