govinfo:USCOURTS-dcd-1_26-cv-01226-0

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UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT 
FOR THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA 
 
RITA FAYE McKEEMAN, ) 
 ) 
 Plaintiff, ) 
 ) 
 v. ) Civil Action No. 26-1226 (UNA) 
 ) 
 ) 
RICHARD CHANEY, et al., ) 
 ) 
 Defendants. ) 
 
MEMORANDUM OPINION 
 This matter is before the court on plaintiff’s application to proceed in forma pauperis, ECF 
No. 2, and pro se complaint, ECF No. 1. The Court grants the application and dismisses the 
complaint without prejudice. 
 The Court holds a pro se complaint to a “less stringent standard[]” than is applied to a 
pleading drafted by a lawyer. Haines v. Kerner, 404 U.S. 519, 520 (1972). Still, a pro se litigant 
must comply with the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure. Jarrell v. Tisch, 656 F. Supp. 237, 239 
(D.D.C. 1987). Rule 8(a) of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure requires that a complaint contain 
a short and plain statement of the grounds upon which the court’s jurisdiction depends, a short and 
plain statement of the c laim showing that the pleader is entitled to relief, and a demand for 
judgment for the relief the pleader seeks. Fed. R. Civ. P. 8(a). It “does not require detailed factual 
allegations, but it demands more than an unadorned, the -defendant-unlawfully-harmed-me 
accusation.” Ashcroft v. Iqbal, 556 U.S. 662, 678 (2009) (quotations omitted). The Rule 8 standard 
ensures that defendants receive fair notice of the claim being asserted so that they can prepare a 
responsive answer, mount an adequate defense, and determine whether the doctrine of res judicata 
applies. See Brown v. Califano, 75 F.R.D. 497, 498 (D.D.C. 1977). 

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 The Court dismisses the complaint for the simple reason that there are no factual allegations 
supporting an actual legal claim. see Compl. at 4. Nor is there a statement demonstrating that this 
Court has subject matter jurisdiction over the claim plaintiff intends to bring. See id. at 3. Missing, 
too, is a demand for relief. See id. at 4. 
 As drafted, the complaint falls well short of Rule 8’s minimal pleading standard, and the 
Court will dismiss it without prejudice. A separate order accompanies this Memorandum Opinion. 
 
DATE: June 3, 2026 /s/ 
 CHRISTOPHER R. COOPER 
 United States District Judge 
 
 
 
 
 
 

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