Jackson v. Steris Corporation

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
EASTERN DISTRICT OF MISSOURI
EASTERN DIVISION
ALENCIA JACKSON, 	)
)
Plaintiff, 	)
)
v. 	) 	Case No. 4:26 CV 186 CDP
)
STERIS CORPORATION, 	)
)
Defendant. 	)
MEMORANDUM AND ORDER
This newly removed case is before me sua sponte upon review of the file.
For the reasons that follow, I will direct plaintiff Alencia Jackson to file an
amended complaint on a Court-provided form for Civil Complaints.
Self-represented litigant Alencia Jackson brought this action in the Circuit
Court of the City of St. Louis, Missouri, raising several claims regarding her
employment at defendant Steris Corporation, including wrongful termination,
hostile work environment, harassment, retaliation, defamation, and unlawful
retention of earned wages. Jackson asserts that Steris’s conduct caused her to
experience pain and suffering, emotional distress, and lost wages. The state-court
petition comprises eight handwritten pages. The first page is a cover page of sorts,
which briefly lists the claims asserted and has “1,200,000” written on the bottom
with no explanation given to its meaning. The remaining seven pages of the
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petition comprise one long paragraph alleging a plethora of facts giving rise to
Jackson’s claims.
Steris removed Jackon’s case to this Court invoking both federal question
and diversity jurisdiction. As to federal question jurisdiction, Steris avers that
Jackson’s petition “expressly alleges that STERIS violated Title VII and Plaintiff’s
Right to Sue notice was issued by the EEOC.” (ECF 1, Not. of Rem., at ¶ 12.) As
to diversity jurisdiction, Steris avers that it is a citizen of the State of Ohio, that
Jackson is a citizen of the State of Illinois, and that Jackon’s petition raises
“voluminous allegations and unspecified pain and suffering damages” and
demands $1,200,000. (Id. at ¶¶ 25, 26-2.)1
I have thoroughly reviewed Jackson’s petition and the entirety of the state-
court file that Steris submitted with its Notice of Removal. Nowhere in either the
petition or file does Jackson allege – “expressly” or otherwise – that Steris violated
Title VII or that the EEOC issued her a Right to Sue notice. Nor does the face of
Jackson’s petition present a Title VII claim. Because a federal question cannot be
discerned from the face of Jackson’s petition, I cannot find that federal question
jurisdiction exists over Jackson’s claims. Great Lakes Gas Transmission Ltd.
P’ship v. Essar Steel Minn. LLC, 843 F.3d 325, 329 (8th Cir. 2016) (well-pleaded
complaint rule).
1 Steris’s Notice of Removal has two paragraphs designated as “26.” The quote is attributed to
the second paragraph 26 that appears on page 6 of the Notice.
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As to Steris’s assertion of diversity jurisdiction, the file shows complete
diversity of citizenship between the parties, but Jackon’s prayer for relief,
including for damages, is unclear. I will therefore direct Jackson to file an
amended complaint using a Court-provided form for Civil Complaints and to
complete the form in accordance with its instructions as well as those set forth
below. See Local Rule 2.06(A) (“All actions brought by self-represented plaintiffs
. . . should be filed on a Court-provided form where applicable. If an action is not
filed on a Court-provided form, the Court, in its discretion, may order the self-
represented plaintiff . . . to file the action on a Court-provided form.”).
Instructions for Filing Amended Complaint: Rule 8(a) of the Federal Rules
of Civil Procedure requires that a pleading must contain “a short and plain
statement of the claim showing that the pleader is entitled to relief” as well as “a
demand for the relief sought.” Rule 8(d) requires that each allegation must be
“simple, concise, and direct.” A plaintiff’s statement of claims must simply give
the defendant fair notice of what the claims are and the grounds upon which they
rest. Swierkiewicz v. Sorema N.A., 534 U.S. 506, 512 (2002).
Jackson must state her claims in separately numbered paragraphs, with each
paragraph limited as far as practicable to a single set of circumstances. Fed. R.
Civ. P. 10(b). For multiple claims, Jackson must state each in a separate count. Id.
For example: “Count I: Wrongful Termination, against defendant [name].” Each
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count shall then set forth in separate, numbered paragraphs: 1) the relevant facts
supporting the claim; 2) the constitutional, statutory, or other right that defendant
violated; and 3) the relief she seeks for the claim (for example, money damages or
equitable relief). The same format shall be followed with respect to each claim.
In stating the facts of a claim, Jackson must describe the conduct she alleges was
unlawful and the date(s) such conduct occurred, if known. In short, Jackson must
describe the adverse action(s) she believes was taken, when it was taken, and why
it amounted to unlawful conduct.
I will direct the Clerk of Court to provide Jackson with a Civil Complaint
form, and I will give Jackson thirty days from the date of this Memorandum and
Order to file an amended complaint on that form. The amended complaint must be
signed under penalty of perjury and completed in accordance with the instructions
provided in the form as well as the instructions provided in this Memorandum and
Order. The filing of an amended complaint completely replaces the earlier filed
petition in this action.
Accordingly,
IT IS HEREBY ORDERED that the Clerk of Court shall mail to plaintiff
Alencia Jackson a copy of the Court’s “Civil Complaint” form along with a copy
of this Memorandum and Order.
IT IS FURTHER ORDERED that plaintiff Alencia Jackson shall have
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thirty (30) days from the date of this Memorandum and Order within which to
complete and file in this Court the Civil Complaint form in accordance with the
instructions set forth in that form and with the instructions set forth in this
Memorandum and Order.
CATHERINE D. PERRY
UNITED STATES DISTRICT JUDGE
Dated this 10th day of February, 2026.
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