Case 1:23-cv-24251-FAM Document 123 Entered on FLSD Docket 03/27/2024 Page 1 of 5

UNITED STATZSDISTRICT COURT FOR THE

SOUTHERN DISTRICT OF FLORD A
M iam iD ivision

C ase Num ber:23-24251-C1V -M 0 1V N 0

m LLIA M o .FU LLER ,M A RTIN PIX ILLA ,

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Plaintiffs,
VS.

THE CITY OF M IAM I,JOE CAROLLO,in

hisindividualcapacity,ARTHUR N OIUEGA,
in hisindividualcapacity,VICTORJA
M ENDEZ,in herindividualcapacity,
R A CH EL D OO LEY ,in herindividual
capacity,ASAEL M ARRERO,inhis
individualcapacity,DANIEL S.GOLDBERG,
in hisindividualcapacity,W ILLIAM ORTIZ,
in hisindividualcapacity,LUIS TORRES,in
hisindividualcapacity,ADRIAN
PLASENCJA ,in hisindividualcapacity,
RENE DIAZ,inhisindividualcapacity,
IVON NE BAYONA,in herindividual
capacity,and JOHN D OES 1-20,

D efendants.
/

O RD ER D ISM ISSIN G PLAIN TIFFS'IFIR ST AM EN DED CO M PLA IN T

1ThePlaintiffsrepeatedlymisspelledthewordGsplainitfp'or'dplainitiff'througholittheComplaint.Asjudgesand
lawyerswea11havem adetypographicalerrorsinourpleadings.Buttherepeatedm istakesbythePlaintiffs'counsel
isareflection ofthesloppyprcsentation ofthePlaintiffs'counselsallegingviolationsofConstimtionalrights.
Case 1:23-cv-24251-FAM Document 123 Entered on FLSD Docket 03/27/2024 Page 2 of 5

OnFebruary2,2024theCourtatahearing dismissedthecom plaintbynumerousPlaintiffs

against numerous Defendants with leave to refile with the specifc instnzctions to delineate

separately count by count each claim by each individual Plaintiff against each individual

Defendant. Colm selforPlaintiffshavetotally ignored thoseinstnlctionsby theCourt.Instead of

complyingwith Fed.R.Civ.P 8(a),which requiresashol'

tandplain statementoftheclaim,the
attorneyshaveEleda 124-pagecomplaintwith 17 countsgroupingm ostifnota11Defendants.The

complainthas671numberedparagraphsthatappeared to beintçnded forthem ediaratherthan for

disposition in a courtoflaw .

The Courtfor the second tim e dism isses the entire complaintrequiring separate counts

againsteach individualDefendantby each individualPlaintiffstatingwhatcivilrightthey violated

and specifying each Defendant'sactions. Simply put,counselforPlaintiffs have ignored then

ChiefJudgeCalmesdirectionsin Weiland v.Palm Beach CaytShert 'sO.#3CC,792 F.3d 1313,

1322-23(11th Cir.2015).
Though the groupingscannotbe too finely drawn,we have identiûed fourrough
types or categories of shotgun pleadings. The mostcom m on type- by a long
shot- is a complaint containing multiple counts where each count adopts the
allegationsofallpreceding counts,causing each successive countto carry a1lthat
cam e before and thelastcotmtto be a com bination ofthe entire complaint. The
nextmostcommon type,atleastasfarasourpublished opinionson the subject
reflect,is a complaint that does not commit the m ortal sin of re-alleging a11
preceding countsbutis guilty ofthe venialsin ofbeing replete with conclusory,
vague,and imm aterialfacts notobviously cormected to any particular cause of
action. The third type of shotgun pleading is one thatcommits the sin of not
separating into adifferentcounteach cause of action or claim forrelief. Fourth,
and fnally,there is the relatively rare sin of asserting multiple claims against
m ultipledefendantswithoutspecifying which ofthedefendantsareresponsiblefor
which actsoromissions,orwhich ofthe defendantsthe claim isbroughtagainst.
The tm ifying characteristic of al1types ofshotgun pleadings isthatthey failto one
degreeoranother,andin onew ay oranother,to givethedefendantsadequatenotice
oftheclaim sagainstthem and thegroundsupon which each claim rests.

2
Case 1:23-cv-24251-FAM Document 123 Entered on FLSD Docket 03/27/2024 Page 3 of 5

lnAnderson v.Dist.Bd.ofTrs.ofcentralFlorida Community College,77F.3d364,366-

67(11th Cir.1996),thecourt,concernedabouttheramifkationsofcasesproceedingon thebasis
ofCçshotgun''pleadings,noted:
Experienceteachesthat,unlesscasesarepled clearly and precisely,issuesarenot
joined,discoveryisnotcontrolled,thetrialcourt'sdocketbecomesunmanageable,
thelitigantssuffer,and society losesconfdencein the court'sabilityto adm inister
justice.
SeealsoMaglutav.Samples,256F.3d 1282(11thCir.2001);Cesnikv.EdgewoodBaptistChurch,
88F.3d 902,905 (11th Cir.1996)9f.S.T,Inc.v.Crow,49F.3d679,684 (11th Cir.1996).This
problem isespecially prevalentin actionswherem yriad factualallegationsand legaltheodesare

often consolidated into a single cotmt,orinto one setoftigeneralallegations,''which,in tuz'

n,is

incorporated by referencewholesaleinto every countofthecom plaint.Such Slshotgtm''pleading

im perilsf'undnmentalprinciplesofdueprocess.
The Eleventh Circuithasexpressed increased f'
rustration with districtcourts that1etthe

caseproceeddespitesuch shotgunpleadings.SeeByrnev.Nezhat,261F.3d1075,1130(11thCir.
2001).TheByrnecourtsoughttoavoidhavingdistrictcoul'tsundergothetime-constlmingprocess
ofSçrearranging thepleadingsand discem ingwhethertheplaintiffhasstated aclaim ,orclaims,for

relief,and whetherthe defendant'safsrmativedefensesarelegally sufficient.'' 16L at 1129. The

Byrnepanelalso counseled,(Glslhotgun pleadings,iftolerated,harm thecoul'tby impeding its

ability to administerjustice. The time a courtspendsmanaging litigation frnmed by shotgun
pleadingsshould bedevoted to othercaseswaitingto beheard.''1d.at1131.
Case 1:23-cv-24251-FAM Document 123 Entered on FLSD Docket 03/27/2024 Page 4 of 5

TheCoul'
trecognizesthattheDefendantshaveraised nllmerouslegalobjectionsto the
am ended complaintthatgo beyond ççimproper lumping''ofDefendants and claim s and lack of

specifcity. Those issuesareindeed importantbutcannotberuled upon untilapropercomplaint

isfiled.TheCourtdismissestheentirecomplaintwithoutprejudicetoreflewiththerequirement
thateach Plaintiffseparate hisorits own claim sagainsteach Defendantseparately in a separate

count.Therewillbe no incop oration by reference languagein thenew complaint.Therewillbe

nophotographsin thenew complaint.Therewillbeno Gçargumentativelanguage''(e.g.,Gçcabals,''

Gicorrtzption,''tsbackgroundinformation'')in thenew complaint. Therewillbeno Eigrouping''of
Defendantsbutonly claim sagainsteach individualDefendantseparately in each count. Simply

put,Plaintiffswillhaveto filea separate countagainsteach Defendmltindicating thedateofthe

allegedviolation ofthatPlaintiffsconstitutionalrightsunder42U.S.C.j1983.Failtlreto doso

bythePlaintiffswillresultin adismissalofthecountwithprejudice.
In addition,theCourtrequiresthatArabicnumbers(e.g.,1,2,3,4...)beusedratherthan
Roman num eralsbe used in orderto avoid the confusion caused by thefirstamended complaint

by allegingçtcountVI1''on page92 aflertheclaim on page 85 asGdcountV1II''and SçcotmtX''on

page 98. The Coul'trequires thatthe counselwho willsign the com plaintwillhave acm ally

proofread theentirecom plaintbeforesigning it.

The Courtrecognizes that the new com plaintw illconsist of m any m ore counts than the

firstamended com plaints17 counts.Buteach countwillbeclearerastothe alleged wrongdoing

by an individually nam edDefendant. ThePlaintiffshave untilFriday April19,2024,atnoon to

/letheirStsecond Amended Complaint.'' No extensionsshallbegranted.Failuretofilewithin

thattim elimitwillbegroundsfordismissalasthe Courtwilldeem the claim sabandoned.

4
Case 1:23-cv-24251-FAM Document 123 Entered on FLSD Docket 03/27/2024 Page 5 of 5

TheCourtwillKtscreen''thecom plaintforcompliancewith thisOrderbeforerequiringthe

Defendantsto filenew motionsto dism iss. Oncethe Courtreviewsthecomplaint,the CourtOn

itsown willdismissthecountsthatviolatethisorderby April30,2024.

The defendants shall file their m otions to dismiss no later than M ay 15,2024. The

plaintiffsm ay respond no laterthan M ay 22,2024.Then theCourtwillschedule OralArgllment

in earlyJune. In them eantime,theCourtstaysa1ldiscovery untilJuly 15,2024.

b
DONEANDORDEREDinChambersatMiami,Florida,this J-i ofMarch2024.

FEDE CO A.MOXVV
UNITED STATES DISTRICT JUDGE

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