Scott et al v. Wise County Housing Authority, No. 2:2018cv00045 - Document 3 (W.D. Va. 2018)
Court Description: OPINION. Signed by Judge James P. Jones on 11/21/18. (flc)
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cl -E! :K% IN THE UNITED STATESDISTRICT COURY FOR THE W ESTERN DISTRICT OF W RGING BIG ST O N E G A P D IW SIO N OFFiCE ATM I NGK u-: Dl sT. IFI(.ED N,VA 'COUR- jk ja,b t2l2g1 JIJLIA D g BM . M EL IN D A SC O TT ,ET A L ., Plaintiffs, V. caseNo.2:18CV q.SO PIN IO N W ISE C O U N TY H O U SIN G AUTH ORITY (W CHA), B y: Jam esP.Jones U nited StatesD istrictJudge D efendant. M elinda Scott, a frequent pro se litigant in this court,has subm itted an application to 5le a civil action w ithout prepaying fees or costs. H er proposed action,based on federalsubject-matterjurisdiction,claims that a localhousing authority thatoperates an apartm ent com plex,in w hich she and hçrm inor cltild are residents,has failed to protectherand herchild from harassm entby othertenants. I . She also claim s that the housing authority has failed to accom m odate the child's ' disability. She alleges,w ithoutfactual support,thatthis harassm ent and failure to accom m odate her child is tsbecause ofhergender''and is Sim otivated by her fam ily Scott et al v. Wise County Housing Authority Doc. 3 orientation having m atriarchal elem ents.'' She nam es herself and her m inor child asplaintiffs and seeks m onetary com pensation. M s.Scottis not a law yer and a nonlaw yer parent cnnnotrepresent her child in federalcourt. Talbertv.Cfy.Comm 'n of CabellC@.,No23:11-00290,2012 Dockets.Justia.com z C ' W L 10816,at *2 (S.D.W .Va.Jan.3,2012) (ssvirtually every courtconfronted w ith the issue has determ ined that a parent does'nothave the rightto proceed pro se on behalfofaminorchi1d.''),appealdismisse4 No.12--6210 (4th Cir.M ar.7, 2012).One importantreason forthisrule isthatnonlawyers are notbound by a licensed attorney's ethical obligations, w hich can be enforced by disbarm ent or suspension.Brownv.Ortho DiagnosticSys.,Inc.,868F.Supp.168,172 (E.D.Va. 1994);seeBarrettv.M inor,No.1:15CV00032,2015 W L 5098200,at*1 (W .D. Va.Aug.31,2015). W hile I w illperm it the filing of the action w ithout prepaym ent of fees and costs,lw illdism issit,both becauseM s.Scot'tcannotrepresentherm inorchild and because the allegations failto supporta cause ofaction. R ile a pro se litigantis not held to the standard of an attorney in pleading,M s.Scotthas considerable experience in her prior courttilings to understand the necessity of pleading facts. W hile she asserts som e details ofvarious alleged instances ofharassm entby other tenants, she alleges no facts that w ould im pose responsibility on the housing authority forsuch harassm ent. 1w illalso directthe Clerk to file the C om plaintand related docum entsunder seal, since M s. Scott has stated her m inor child's full nnm e in those pleadings, rather than the child's initials,in violation of Federal Rule of C ivil Procedure 5.2(a) - 2- A separate Orderw illbe entered forthwith. D A TED : N ovem ber21,2018 U nite StatesD is 1ctJudge - 3-
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