KNIGHT v. BELL

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
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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
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