Background
The appellant, Charles Claude Ramsey, filed a one-page letter with the district court clerk requesting a complaint form under Section nineteen eighty-three of Title forty-two of the United States Code. The district court determined the letter did not intend to initiate a civil action and dismissed the case without providing leave to amend.
The court’s reasoning
The court reviewed the record and discerned no reversible error. The district court’s dismissal was affirmed because the appellant did not contest the characterization of his letter as not intending to initiate a civil action.
We have reviewed the record and discern no reversible error.
Ramsey v. Unknown, No. 2:25-cv-00740-JKW-LRL (E.D. Va. Jan. 5, 2026)
What it means going forward
The decision reinforces that a mere request for a complaint form does not constitute the filing of a civil action under Section nineteen eighty-three.