This page was read by OCR. Text can misread numbers, dates or table columns. Check the PDF before quoting or interpreting it. Redacted areas remain redacted.
Case 3:22-cv-00134-JAG-MRC Document 26 Filed 12/22/22 Page 2 of 12 PagelD# 131
the Court for evaluation pursuant to 28 U.S.C. §§ 1915(e)(2) and 1915A, Federal Rule of Civil
Procedure 20(a),” and Melby’s compliance with the Court’s August 4, 2022, Order.
I. PRELIMINARY REVIEW
Pursuant to the Prison Litigation Reform Act (“PLRA”), this Court must dismiss any action
filed by a prisoner if the Court determines the action (1) “is frivolous” or (2) “fails to state a claim
on which relief may be granted.” 28 U.S.C. § 1915(e)(2); see 28 U.S.C. § 1915A. The first
standard includes claims based upon “an indisputably meritless legal theory,” or claims where the
“factual contentions are clearly baseless.” Clay v. Yates, 809 F. Supp. 417, 427 (E.D. Va. 1992)
(quoting Neitzke v. Williams, 490 U.S. 319, 327 (1989)). The second standard is the familiar
standard for a motion to dismiss under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 12(b)(6).
“A motion to dismiss under Rule 12(b)(6) tests the sufficiency of a complaint; importantly,
it does not resolve contests surrounding the facts, the merits of a claim, or the applicability of
defenses.” Republican Party of N.C. v. Martin, 980 F.2d 943, 952 (4th Cir. 1992) (citing 5A
Charles A. Wright & Arthur R. Miller, Federal Practice and Procedure § 1356 (1990)). In
considering a motion to dismiss for failure to state a claim, a plaintiff's well-pleaded allegations
are taken as true and the complaint is viewed in the light most favorable to the plaintiff. Mylan
Labs., Inc. v. Matkari, 7 F.3d 1130, 1134 (4th Cir. 1993); see also Martin, 980 F.2d at 952. This
principle applies only to factual allegations, however, and “a court considering a motion to dismiss
? Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 20(a) provides:
(2) Defendants. Persons . . . may be joined in one action as defendants if:
(A) any right to relief is asserted against them jointly, severally, or in the
alternative with respect to or arising out of the same transaction, occurrence, or
series of transactions or occurrences; and
(B) any question of law or fact common to all defendants will arise in the action.
Fed. R. Civ. P. 20(a)(2).
Jump to an indexed page (12 of 12)