PHILADELPHIA – Due to the governmental policy of sovereign immunity from lawsuit, a federal appellate court ruled that a serial litigant is not permitted to initiate and proceed with legal action against the U.S. Marine Corps.
A trio of judges from the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit issued a dismissal of Amro Elansari’s case on March 10, affirming a prior decision from the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania.
On Aug. 8, 2019, Elansari had filed a complaint alleging his constitutional rights were violated when the U.S. Marine Corps did not allow him to enlist, because he was serving a time of criminal probation.
Elansari stated that he then applied for early termination of his probation in the Centre County Court of Common Pleas for “good behavior” and alleged that U.S. District Judge Pamela Ruest “committed fraud” when she denied his request.
The District Court granted Elansari’s application to proceed in forma pauperis, and then screened his complaint, according to federal law. As a result, the District Court dismissed the case on Aug. 19 - 11 days after it was filed, and specifically with prejudice, because he “could not cure the defects discussed.”
Elansari then appealed to the Third Circuit, which also dismissed his case.
“The District Court properly dismissed Elansari’s claims against the Marine Corps, as federal agencies are shielded by sovereign immunity absent an explicit waiver. And the District Court’s dismissal of Elansari’s claims against Judge Ruest on the basis of judicial immunity was also proper, as Elansari’s claims challenged Judge Ruest’s decision to deny his application for early termination of probation; that decision was within her jurisdiction,” The Third Circuit said.
“Elansari’s conclusory allegation that Judge Ruest used ‘outside-of-the-courtroom procedural tactics to deprive [him] of a fair opportunity to challenge’ his conviction, does not defeat that immunity. Because the defendants were immune from suit, the District Court did not abuse its discretion in dismissing the complaint without allowing Elansari to amend it.”
Elansari is no stranger to filing litigation in Pennsylvania federal courts.
Docket searches show that he has filed 10 lawsuits in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania in the previous 18 months, four of them in July alone.
His attempt to re-litigate a class action lawsuit against the makers of dating app Tinder was thrown out by the Third Circuit in November and per a profanity-laden video on his YouTube channel, he claimed he is currently suing Best Buy for alleged bait-and-switch marketing tactics.
U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit case 19-3021
U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania case 2:19-cv-03609
From the Pennsylvania Record: Reach Courts Reporter Nicholas Malfitano at nick.malfitano@therecordinc.com