Opinion
Case No. 2:20-cv-02339-APG-VCF
12-29-2020
ANGELO FERGUSON, Plaintiff v. HDSP MEDICAL ISSUES, Defendant
ORDER
I. DISCUSSION
On December 28, 2020, Plaintiff, an inmate in the custody of the Nevada Department of Corrections ("NDOC"), submitted a complaint. (ECF No. 1-1). Plaintiff has not submitted an application to proceed in forma pauperis or paid the full $402 filing fee in this matter.
Complaint
The Court notes that Plaintiff did not sign the complaint at ECF No. 1-1. Under Rule 11 of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, a plaintiff who is not represented by counsel is required to sign his complaint. Fed. R. Civ. P. 11(a). Because Plaintiff did not sign the complaint, the Court cannot consider it.
As such, the Court grants Plaintiff a one-time extension to submit a signed amended complaint to the Court on or before March 1, 2021. If Plaintiff chooses to file an amended complaint, he is advised that an amended complaint supersedes (replaces) the original complaint and, thus, the amended complaint must be complete in itself. See Hal Roach Studios, Inc. v. Richard Feiner & Co., Inc., 896 F.2d 1542, 1546 (9th Cir. 1989). Therefore, a mere signature page will not be sufficient. Plaintiff should file the signed amended complaint on this Court's approved prisoner civil rights form, and it must be entitled "First Amended Complaint."
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Application to Proceed in Forma Pauperis
Under 28 U.S.C. § 1915(a)(2) and Local Rule LSR 1-2, an inmate seeking to begin a civil action in this Court may apply to proceed in forma pauperis in order to file the civil action without prepaying the full $402 filing fee. To apply for in forma pauperis status, the inmate must submit all three of the following documents to the Court:
(1) a completed Application to Proceed in Forma Pauperis for Inmate , this Court's approved form (i.e. pages 1 through 3 with the inmate's two signatures on page 3),
(2) a Financial Certificate properly signed by both the inmate and a prison or jail official (i.e. page 4 of this Court's approved form), and
(3) a copy of the inmate's prison or jail trust fund account statement for the previous six-month period.
The Court will grant Plaintiff a one-time extension to file a fully complete application to proceed in forma pauperis containing all three of the required documents, or in the alternative, pay the full $402 filing fee for this action on or before March 1, 2021. Absent unusual circumstances, the Court will not grant any further extensions of time. If Plaintiff does not file a fully complete application to proceed in forma pauperis with all three required documents or pay the full $402 filing fee on or before March 1, 2021, this case will be subject to dismissal without prejudice for Plaintiff to file a new case with the Court when Plaintiff has all three of the documents needed to file a fully complete application to proceed in forma pauperis or pays the full $402 filing fee.
A dismissal without prejudice means Plaintiff does not give up the right to refile the case with the Court, under a new case number, when Plaintiff is able to file a signed amended complaint and has all three documents needed to submit with an application to proceed in forma pauperis. Alternatively, Plaintiff may choose not to file an application to proceed in forma pauperis and instead pay the full filing fee of $402 on or before March 1, 2020 to proceed with this case.
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II. CONCLUSION
For the foregoing reasons, IT IS ORDERED that the Clerk of the Court will send to Plaintiff the approved form for filing a § 1983 complaint, instructions for the same, and a copy of his original complaint at ECF No. 1-1. If Plaintiff files a signed amended complaint, he should use the Court's approved form and he must write the words "First Amended" above the words "Civil Rights Complaint" in the caption.
IT IS FURTHER ORDERD that if Plaintiff chooses to file a signed amended complaint, Plaintiff will file the signed amended complaint with this Court on or before March 1, 2021.
IT IS FURTHER ORDERED that, if Plaintiff does not file a signed amended complaint on or before March 1, 2021, this case will be subject to dismissal without prejudice for Plaintiff to refile the case with the Court, under a new case number, when Plaintiff is able to file a signed amended complaint.
IT IS FURTHER ORDERED that the Clerk of the Court will send Plaintiff the approved form application to proceed in forma pauperis by an inmate, as well as the document entitled information and instructions for filing an in forma pauperis application.
IT IS FURTHER ORDERED that on or before March 1, 2021, Plaintiff will either pay the full $402 filing fee for a civil action (which includes the $350 filing fee and the $52 administrative fee) or file with the Court:
(1) a completed Application to Proceed in Forma Pauperis for Inmate on this Court's approved form (i.e. pages 1 through 3 of the form with the inmate's two signatures on page 3),
(2) a Financial Certificate properly signed by both the inmate and a prison or jail official (i.e. page 4 of this Court's approved form), and
(3) a copy of the inmate's prison or jail trust fund account statement for the previous six-month period.
IT IS FURTHER ORDERED that, if Plaintiff does not file a fully complete application to proceed in forma pauperis with all three documents or pay the full $402 filing fee for a civil action on or before March 1, 2021, this case will be subject to dismissal without prejudice for Plaintiff to refile the case with the Court, under a new case number, when Plaintiff has all three documents needed to file a complete application to proceed in forma pauperis or pays the full $402 filing fee.
DATED: 12-29-2020
/s/_________
UNITED STATES MAGISTRATE JUDGE