Jermain Din Washington, Jr. v. Honeycomb Programs Inc., Gregory Reid, and Itai Benzaken

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT FOR THE EASTERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA 10 JERMAIN DIN WASHINGTON, Jr., No. 2:25-cv-2992 DC AC PS Plaintiff, v. ORDER HONEYCOMB PROGRAMS INC., GREGORY REID, and ITAI BENZAKEN, 15 Defendants. 16 Plaintiff is proceeding in this action pro se. The case was accordingly referred to the undersigned for pretrial purposes by E.D. Cal. 302(c)(21). Plaintiff has filed a request for leave to proceed in forma pauperis (“IFP”) and submitted the affidavit required by that statute. See 28 U.S.C. § 1915(a)(1). The motion to proceed IFP will be granted. Upon screening the complaint, however, the court finds that federal jurisdiction is lacking because plaintiff asserts only a state law claim. Accordingly, the complaint will not be served. Because the facts alleged in the complaint suggest the possible existence of analogous federal claims, however, plaintiff will be given the opportunity to file an amended complaint that properly invokes federal question jurisdiction. I.…