TRENTON, N.J. — A federal judge has dismissed a lawsuit filed by Isaiah’s Prosperity Ministries Trust against the Jersey City Police Department, several police officers, a towing company and an impound lot, finding that the trust cannot litigate the case in federal court without legal counsel.
In a letter opinion issued Wednesday, U.S. District Judge Julien Xavier Neals granted the defendants’ motion to dismiss the amended complaint without prejudice, allowing the trust 60 days to retain an attorney and file a new amended complaint.
Court says trustee cannot represent trust without an attorney
According to the complaint, the trust alleged Jersey City police officers unlawfully stopped and towed a vehicle owned by the trust. The amended complaint also asserted that the trust had filed a Uniform Commercial Code financing statement and sent cease-and-desist notices before filing suit.
Judge Neals noted that the complaint “does not tender any facts about the stop or seizure” and instead relied on allegations that defendants ignored legal protections and constitutional obligations.
The court did not rule on the merits of those claims because it found the threshold issue was representation.
“A non-lawyer may not represent a trust pro se before this Court,” Judge Neals wrote, citing Third Circuit precedent requiring artificial entities such as trusts to appear through licensed counsel.
Court rejects sovereign citizen legal theories
In a footnote, Judge Neals observed that several arguments raised in the amended complaint are commonly associated with the so-called sovereign citizen movement, including reliance on Uniform Commercial Code filings.
The opinion states that to the extent the plaintiff advances sovereign citizen arguments, the court rejects them as “patently frivolous,” citing prior federal court decisions.
The judge also noted that the amended complaint appeared “seriously deficient,” stating it lacked factual allegations and broadly attributed wrongdoing to 13 defendants without specifying each defendant’s alleged conduct.
Plaintiff has 60 days to obtain counsel
The dismissal was entered without prejudice, meaning the trust may continue the case if it retains an attorney licensed to practice before the District of New Jersey and files an amended complaint within 60 days.
If no attorney appears within that timeframe, the court warned the action could be dismissed with prejudice for failure to prosecute.
