Opinion ID: 809345
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: First Case

Text: Alleging that on or about July 7, 2008, she discovered that she had suffered medical negligence, Ms. Johnson and her husband filed a pro se federal complaint against the defendants on July 6, 2010, within the Kansas two-year statute of limitations for such cases. See Kan. Stat. Ann. § 60-513(a)(7), (c). On July 12, 2010, the district court granted the plaintiffs leave to proceed in forma pauperis and instructed them to provide completed summonses to the court clerk to be issued. Ms. Johnson says she obtained the summons forms from the court clerk, filled them out, and returned them to the clerk to be issued. She also says that the clerk received the summonses on July 21, 2010, but the issued summonses were not returned to her so she could arrange for service on the defendants. Also on July 12, 2010, the district court issued an order to show cause by August 2, 2010 why the case should not be dismissed for lack of subject matter jurisdiction. The complaint, which made no claims under federal statutory or constitutional law, averred that the plaintiffs and the defendants were all citizens -2- of Kansas. Therefore, the complaint did not establish diversity jurisdiction. See 28 U.S.C. § 1332(a)(1) (providing for federal court jurisdiction over “civil actions where the matter in controversy exceeds the sum or value of $75,000, exclusive of interest and costs, and is between . . . citizens of different States”). Ms. Johnson’s pro se response to the show-cause order did not address the issue of diversity. Accordingly, the district court dismissed the case for lack of subject matter jurisdiction due to the lack of diversity. Ms. Johnson then engaged an attorney who filed a Motion for Alteration or Amendment of Judgment requesting that the dismissal be rescinded to permit Ms. Johnson to effect service of process so she could utilize the Kansas Savings Statute, Kan. Stat. Ann. § 60-518, and refile her case notwithstanding that the limitations period had run.1 The district court denied the motion.