Summary
The United States District Court for the Southern District of Mississippi adopted a magistrate judge’s report and recommendation and dismissed Bobby Quinn’s amended complaint with prejudice as frivolous under 28 U.S.C. § 1915(e)(2)(B). The court concluded that the complaint’s allegations concerning CIA involvement, psychological experimentation, and coordinated surveillance described fantastical or delusional scenarios lacking an arguable basis in fact.
Topics
Practice areas
Questions Presented
- Whether the amended complaint should be dismissed under 28 U.S.C. § 1915(e)(2)(B) because its allegations described fantastical or delusional scenarios and therefore lacked an arguable basis in fact.
- Whether the plaintiff's objection warranted rejection of the magistrate judge's recommendation.
- Whether the amended complaint should be dismissed with prejudice and the plaintiff's pending motions denied.
Holdings
- An in forma pauperis claim is frivolous when it lacks an arguable basis in law or fact, including when it describes fantastical or delusional scenarios; Quinn's amended complaint met that standard and was properly dismissed.
- The Report and Recommendation was adopted, the amended complaint was dismissed with prejudice as frivolous, and the plaintiff's pending motions were denied.
Key quotations
“A claim “is frivolous where it lacks an arguable basis either in law or in fact.””
“And a claim lacks an arguable basis in fact where it “describe[s] fantastical or delusional scenarios.””
Factual background
Quinn alleged that he was the victim of a lifelong, trauma-based psychological torture experiment known as MKULTRA, allegedly masterminded by the CIA. He alleged that numerous governmental and private defendants were acting in coordination to have him imprisoned, confined in a mental-health facility, or killed. He sought $200 million in compensatory and punitive damages from each individual defendant.
Procedural history
Quinn filed a complaint against the Rankin County Sheriff's Department. After the Sheriff's Department moved to dismiss and Quinn did not respond, he filed a 55-page amended complaint seeking to add 23 defendants. The magistrate judge screened the amended complaint under 28 U.S.C. § 1915(e)(2)(B) and recommended dismissal as frivolous. The district court overruled the objection, adopted the Report and Recommendation, dismissed the amended complaint with prejudice, and denied Quinn's pending motions.