This case originated from mortgage foreclosure proceedings in Illinois state court against Fodies McBride, Sr., initiated by CitiMortgage, Inc. for failure to make monthly payments on his home in South Chicago Heights. After the state court entered a judgment of foreclosure and sale, McBride sought to stay the sale in federal court, but that motion was denied under the Anti-Injunction Act. Following his eviction, McBride filed new complaints in federal court alleging that Allstate Insurance Company and its agents caused him distress by denying medical claims related to a car accident, and that police officers unlawfully entered his home and shut off his water due to unpaid bills. The district court dismissed these complaints for lack of subject matter jurisdiction, finding they did not allege violations of federal law or establish diversity jurisdiction. After granting McBride a deadline to file a consolidated complaint with a proper jurisdictional basis, the court dismissed the case when he failed to comply. McBride then appealed, raising procedural objections about the defendants' failure to answer and the judicial reassignment, but he did not address the core jurisdictional dismissal.
The Seventh Circuit affirmed the dismissal based on the absence of subject matter jurisdiction and the frivolous nature of the appeal. The court noted that McBride's complaints failed to allege facts supporting federal question jurisdiction under 28 U.S.C. § 1331 or diversity jurisdiction under 28 U.S.C. § 1332(a). The appellate court emphasized that while McBride is a pro se litigant, he is still required to comply with Federal Rules of Appellate Procedure 28(a)(8)(A) by explaining why the district court's decision was incorrect. McBride's appeal focused on procedural grievances, such as the failure of defendants to answer and the propriety of judicial reassignment, but he did not engage with the district court's dispositive determination that he lacked a valid basis for federal jurisdiction. Because McBride did not develop an argument contesting the lack of subject matter jurisdiction, the court found no ground for reversal and dismissed the appeal without oral argument.
The appeal is dismissed, leaving the district court's dismissal of McBride's complaints for lack of subject matter jurisdiction in place. This means McBride's claims against Allstate and the police officers remain unresolved in federal court, and he cannot pursue them there without a valid jurisdictional basis. The decision reinforces that pro se litigants must still articulate specific legal errors in their briefs to avoid dismissal for frivolousness, even when the underlying appeal involves complex procedural history.
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