Case Information
*1 Case 1:25-cv-02691-UNA Document 12 Filed 11/14/25 Page 1 of 2
UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT FOR THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA MARVIN KNIGHT, )
) Plaintiff, ) ) v. ) Civil Action No. 25-02726 (UNA)
) ) RAYMOND EMANUEL BELL, )
) Defendant. ) MEMORANDUM OPINION
Plaintiff, appearing pro se , has filed a complaint and an application to proceed in forma pauperis (IFP). For the following reasons, the Court grants the IFP application and dismisses the complaint.
Plaintiff, a resident of Washington, D.C., sues an individual alleged to be a D.C. citizen and founder of a trucking company in the District. See Compl., ECF No. 1 at 3-4. In the disjointed Complaint, Plaintiff mentions “negligence” and “breach of contract” in regard to an “accident that occurred on” September 29, 2022, where he “was a victim.” Id . at 4. Plaintiff alleges “I did not receive my $450 stipend” and was not allowed “to finish training for certification.” Id . He seeks an unspecified amount of damages for lost wages, pain, suffering, and emotional distress. Id . at 5.
The subject-matter jurisdiction of the federal district courts is limited and is set forth generally at 28 U.S.C. §§ 1331 and 1332. Under those statutes, federal jurisdiction is available only when a “federal question” is presented, id . § 1331, or the parties are “citizens of different States” and the amount in controversy “exceeds the sum or value of $75,000, exclusive of interest and costs,” id . § 1332(a). A party seeking relief in the district court must plead facts that bring the
Case 1:25-cv-02691-UNA Document 12 Filed 11/14/25 Page 2 of 2 suit within the court’s jurisdiction, see Fed. R. Civ. P. 8(a), or suffer dismissal of the case, Fed. R. Civ. P. 12(h)(3).
The Complaint does not present a claim arising under “the Constitution [or] laws . . . of the United States,” 28 U.S.C. § 1331, nor establish diversity jurisdiction. Therefore, this case will be dismissed by separate order.
TREVOR N. McFADDEN Date: November 14, 2025 United States District Judge 2
