1 2 UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT 3 DISTRICT OF NEVADA
4 SOULIDAO CHOUNLABOUNDY, Case No. 2:20-cv-01378-GMN-BNW
5 Plaintiff ORDER
6 v.
7 CORE CIVIC, et al.,
8 Defendants
9 10 I. DISCUSSION 11 On July 23, 2020, Plaintiff, an inmate in the custody of the Nevada Southern 12 Detention Center (“NSDC”), submitted a civil rights complaint under 42 U.S.C. § 1983 13 and filed an application to proceed in forma pauperis. (ECF Nos. 1-1, 1). Plaintiff’s 14 complaint and Plaintiff's application to proceed in forma pauperis are both incomplete. 15 Plaintiff's Complaint 16 Upon review, the Court notes that Plaintiff did not sign the complaint. (ECF No. 1- 17 1 at 9). Under Rule 11 of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, a plaintiff who is not 18 represented by counsel is required to sign his complaint. Fed. R. Civ. P. 11(a). Because 19 Plaintiff did not sign the complaint, the Court cannot consider it. 20 As such, the Court grants Plaintiff a one-time extension to submit a signed 21 amended complaint to the Court on or before September 25, 2020. If Plaintiff chooses 22 to file an amended complaint, he is advised that an amended complaint supersedes 23 (replaces) the original complaint and, thus, the amended complaint must be complete in 24 itself. See Hal Roach Studios, Inc. v. Richard Feiner & Co., Inc., 896 F.2d 1542, 1546 25 (9th Cir. 1989). Therefore, a mere signature page will not be sufficient. Plaintiff should 26 file the amended complaint on this Court’s approved prisoner civil rights form, and it must 27 be entitled “First Amended Complaint.” 28 / / / 1 Plaintiff's Application to Proceed in Forma Pauperis 2 Under 28 U.S.C. § 1915(a)(2) and Local Rule LSR 1-2, an inmate seeking to begin 3 a civil action in this Court may apply to proceed in forma pauperis in order to file the civil 4 action without prepaying the full $400 filing fee. To apply for in forma pauperis status, the 5 inmate must submit all three the following documents to the Court: 6 (1) a completed Application to Proceed in Forma Pauperis for Inmate, this 7 Court’s approved form (i.e. pages 1 through 3 with the inmate’s two signatures on 8 page 3), 9 (2) a Financial Certificate properly signed by both the inmate and a prison or jail 10 official (i.e. page 4 of this Court’s approved form), and 11 (3) a copy of the inmate’s prison or jail trust fund account statement for the 12 previous six-month period. If Plaintiff has not been at the facility a full six-month period, 13 Plaintiff must still submit an inmate account statement for the dates he has been present 14 at the facility. 15 Plaintiff has not filed an inmate account statement with this application to proceed 16 in forma pauperis. As previously stated, if Plaintiff has not been at the facility a full six- 17 month period, Plaintiff must still submit an inmate account statement for the dates he has 18 been present at the facility. The Court is aware that officials at Nevada Southern 19 Detention Center are capable of producing an inmate account statement for inmates 20 present at the facility less than six months because the Court has received such 21 statements. 22 Accordingly, the Court denies Plaintiff's application to proceed in forma pauperis 23 (ECF No. 1) without prejudice because the application is incomplete. 24 It is important that Plaintiff understand that a financial certificate and an inmate 25 account statement are not the same thing. Documentation concerning a financial 26 certificate is not documentation about an inmate account statement. If Plaintiff has 27 difficulty obtaining both a financial certificate and an inmate account statement from 28 prison officials, Plaintiff shall file an affidavit in this case detailing when he requested both 1 documents, who he spoke to about the status of both documents, who he followed up 2 with after he did not receive both documents, and their responses. Therefore, any 3 affidavit provided by Plaintiff must document his efforts with regard to both a financial 4 certificate and an inmate account statement, not merely a financial certificate. 5 Specifically, if Plaintiff is unable to acquire the necessary documents from prison 6 officials, after making efforts to do so following receipt of this order, he must provide the 7 Court with an affidavit that demonstrates that he has done all that he could to acquire 8 both a financial certificate and an inmate account statement by the Court’s deadline. 9 Plaintiff’s affidavit should include dates of his requests, dates of his follow-up requests, 10 names of the prison officials that he spoke to about the matter, and their responses. If 11 Plaintiff’s affidavit demonstrates that he has done all that was possible to acquire both a 12 financial certificate and an inmate account statement, the Court will consider his 13 application to proceed in forma pauperis complete.1 14 Plaintiff should not file multiple letters or objections regarding these requirements 15 as this imposes an unnecessary administrative burden on the Court and delays the ability 16 of the Court to address substantive issues in cases. Plaintiff should simply file one 17 affidavit. 18 The Court will grant Plaintiff a one-time extension until on or before September 19 25, 2020, to file either a fully complete application to proceed in forma pauperis containing 20 all three of the required documents or, alternatively, the first three pages of the application 21 to proceed in forma pauperis and an affidavit detailing the efforts he took to acquire both 22 a financial certificate and an inmate account statement from prison officials. Absent 23 unusual circumstances, the Court will not grant any further extensions of time. If Plaintiff 24 does not file either a fully complete application to proceed in forma pauperis with all three 25 required documents or, alternatively, the first three pages of the application to proceed in
26 1 Plaintiff must still submit the first three pages of the application to proceed in 27 forma pauperis on this Court’s approved form with his affidavit. If Plaintiff does not submit the first three pages of the application to proceed in forma pauperis with the affidavit, the 28 Court will dismiss the case without prejudice for Plaintiff to open a new case when he is able to acquire the required documents. 1 forma pauperis and an affidavit detailing the efforts he took to acquire both a financial 2 certificate and an inmate account statement from prison officials on or before September 3 25, 2020, the Court will dismiss this case without prejudice for Plaintiff to file a new case 4 with the Court when Plaintiff is able to either acquire all three of the documents needed 5 to file a fully complete application to proceed in forma pauperis or, alternatively, the first 6 three pages of the application to proceed in forma pauperis and an affidavit detailing the 7 efforts he took to acquire both a financial certificate and an inmate account statement 8 from prison officials.
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1 2 UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT 3 DISTRICT OF NEVADA
4 SOULIDAO CHOUNLABOUNDY, Case No. 2:20-cv-01378-GMN-BNW
5 Plaintiff ORDER
6 v.
7 CORE CIVIC, et al.,
8 Defendants
9 10 I. DISCUSSION 11 On July 23, 2020, Plaintiff, an inmate in the custody of the Nevada Southern 12 Detention Center (“NSDC”), submitted a civil rights complaint under 42 U.S.C. § 1983 13 and filed an application to proceed in forma pauperis. (ECF Nos. 1-1, 1). Plaintiff’s 14 complaint and Plaintiff's application to proceed in forma pauperis are both incomplete. 15 Plaintiff's Complaint 16 Upon review, the Court notes that Plaintiff did not sign the complaint. (ECF No. 1- 17 1 at 9). Under Rule 11 of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, a plaintiff who is not 18 represented by counsel is required to sign his complaint. Fed. R. Civ. P. 11(a). Because 19 Plaintiff did not sign the complaint, the Court cannot consider it. 20 As such, the Court grants Plaintiff a one-time extension to submit a signed 21 amended complaint to the Court on or before September 25, 2020. If Plaintiff chooses 22 to file an amended complaint, he is advised that an amended complaint supersedes 23 (replaces) the original complaint and, thus, the amended complaint must be complete in 24 itself. See Hal Roach Studios, Inc. v. Richard Feiner & Co., Inc., 896 F.2d 1542, 1546 25 (9th Cir. 1989). Therefore, a mere signature page will not be sufficient. Plaintiff should 26 file the amended complaint on this Court’s approved prisoner civil rights form, and it must 27 be entitled “First Amended Complaint.” 28 / / / 1 Plaintiff's Application to Proceed in Forma Pauperis 2 Under 28 U.S.C. § 1915(a)(2) and Local Rule LSR 1-2, an inmate seeking to begin 3 a civil action in this Court may apply to proceed in forma pauperis in order to file the civil 4 action without prepaying the full $400 filing fee. To apply for in forma pauperis status, the 5 inmate must submit all three the following documents to the Court: 6 (1) a completed Application to Proceed in Forma Pauperis for Inmate, this 7 Court’s approved form (i.e. pages 1 through 3 with the inmate’s two signatures on 8 page 3), 9 (2) a Financial Certificate properly signed by both the inmate and a prison or jail 10 official (i.e. page 4 of this Court’s approved form), and 11 (3) a copy of the inmate’s prison or jail trust fund account statement for the 12 previous six-month period. If Plaintiff has not been at the facility a full six-month period, 13 Plaintiff must still submit an inmate account statement for the dates he has been present 14 at the facility. 15 Plaintiff has not filed an inmate account statement with this application to proceed 16 in forma pauperis. As previously stated, if Plaintiff has not been at the facility a full six- 17 month period, Plaintiff must still submit an inmate account statement for the dates he has 18 been present at the facility. The Court is aware that officials at Nevada Southern 19 Detention Center are capable of producing an inmate account statement for inmates 20 present at the facility less than six months because the Court has received such 21 statements. 22 Accordingly, the Court denies Plaintiff's application to proceed in forma pauperis 23 (ECF No. 1) without prejudice because the application is incomplete. 24 It is important that Plaintiff understand that a financial certificate and an inmate 25 account statement are not the same thing. Documentation concerning a financial 26 certificate is not documentation about an inmate account statement. If Plaintiff has 27 difficulty obtaining both a financial certificate and an inmate account statement from 28 prison officials, Plaintiff shall file an affidavit in this case detailing when he requested both 1 documents, who he spoke to about the status of both documents, who he followed up 2 with after he did not receive both documents, and their responses. Therefore, any 3 affidavit provided by Plaintiff must document his efforts with regard to both a financial 4 certificate and an inmate account statement, not merely a financial certificate. 5 Specifically, if Plaintiff is unable to acquire the necessary documents from prison 6 officials, after making efforts to do so following receipt of this order, he must provide the 7 Court with an affidavit that demonstrates that he has done all that he could to acquire 8 both a financial certificate and an inmate account statement by the Court’s deadline. 9 Plaintiff’s affidavit should include dates of his requests, dates of his follow-up requests, 10 names of the prison officials that he spoke to about the matter, and their responses. If 11 Plaintiff’s affidavit demonstrates that he has done all that was possible to acquire both a 12 financial certificate and an inmate account statement, the Court will consider his 13 application to proceed in forma pauperis complete.1 14 Plaintiff should not file multiple letters or objections regarding these requirements 15 as this imposes an unnecessary administrative burden on the Court and delays the ability 16 of the Court to address substantive issues in cases. Plaintiff should simply file one 17 affidavit. 18 The Court will grant Plaintiff a one-time extension until on or before September 19 25, 2020, to file either a fully complete application to proceed in forma pauperis containing 20 all three of the required documents or, alternatively, the first three pages of the application 21 to proceed in forma pauperis and an affidavit detailing the efforts he took to acquire both 22 a financial certificate and an inmate account statement from prison officials. Absent 23 unusual circumstances, the Court will not grant any further extensions of time. If Plaintiff 24 does not file either a fully complete application to proceed in forma pauperis with all three 25 required documents or, alternatively, the first three pages of the application to proceed in
26 1 Plaintiff must still submit the first three pages of the application to proceed in 27 forma pauperis on this Court’s approved form with his affidavit. If Plaintiff does not submit the first three pages of the application to proceed in forma pauperis with the affidavit, the 28 Court will dismiss the case without prejudice for Plaintiff to open a new case when he is able to acquire the required documents. 1 forma pauperis and an affidavit detailing the efforts he took to acquire both a financial 2 certificate and an inmate account statement from prison officials on or before September 3 25, 2020, the Court will dismiss this case without prejudice for Plaintiff to file a new case 4 with the Court when Plaintiff is able to either acquire all three of the documents needed 5 to file a fully complete application to proceed in forma pauperis or, alternatively, the first 6 three pages of the application to proceed in forma pauperis and an affidavit detailing the 7 efforts he took to acquire both a financial certificate and an inmate account statement 8 from prison officials. 9 A dismissal without prejudice means Plaintiff does not give up the right to refile the 10 case with the Court, under a new case number, when Plaintiff has either all three 11 documents needed to submit with the application to proceed in forma pauperis or, 12 alternatively, the first three pages of the application to proceed in forma pauperis and an 13 affidavit detailing the efforts he took to acquire both a financial certificate and an inmate 14 account statement from prison officials. Plaintiff may also choose not to file an application 15 to proceed in forma pauperis and instead pay the full filing fee of $400 on or before 16 September 25, 2020 to proceed with this case. 17 II. CONCLUSION 18 For the foregoing reasons, IT IS ORDERED that the Clerk of the Court shall send 19 to Plaintiff the approved form for filing a § 1983 complaint, instructions for the same, and 20 a copy of his original complaint. (ECF No. 1-1). If Plaintiff files an amended complaint, he 21 should use the Court's approved form and he must write the words “First Amended” above 22 the words “Civil Rights Complaint” in the caption. 23 IT IS FURTHER ORDERD that if Plaintiff chooses to file a signed amended 24 complaint, Plaintiff will file the signed amended complaint to this Court on or before 25 September 25, 2020. 26 IT IS FURTHER ORDERED that, if Plaintiff does not file a signed amended 27 complaint on or before September 25, 2020, the Court will dismiss this action without 28 prejudice for Plaintiff to refile the case with the Court, under a new case number, when 1 Plaintiff is able to file a signed amended complaint. 2 IT IS FURTHER ORDERED that Plaintiff’s application to proceed in forma pauperis 3 (Docket No. 1) is denied without prejudice to file either a new and fully complete 4 application to proceed in forma pauperis with all three documents or, alternatively, the 5 first three pages of the application to proceed in forma pauperis and an affidavit detailing 6 the efforts he took to acquire both a financial certificate and an inmate account statement 7 from prison officials. 8 IT IS FURTHER ORDERED that the Clerk of the Court will send Plaintiff the 9 approved form application to proceed in forma pauperis by an inmate, as well as the 10 document entitled information and instructions for filing an in forma pauperis application. 11 IT IS FURTHER ORDERED that on or before September 25, 2020, Plaintiff will 12 either pay the full $400 filing fee for a civil action (which includes the $350 filing fee and 13 the $50 administrative fee) or file with the Court: 14 (1) a completed Application to Proceed in Forma Pauperis for Inmate on this 15 Court’s approved form (i.e. pages 1 through 3 of the form with the inmate’s two 16 signatures on page 3), 17 (2) a Financial Certificate properly signed by both the inmate and a prison or jail 18 official (i.e. page 4 of this Court’s approved form), and 19 (3) a copy of the inmate’s prison or jail trust fund account statement for the 20 previous six-month period. If Plaintiff has not been at the facility a full six-month period, 21 Plaintiff must still submit an inmate account statement for the dates he has been present 22 at the facility. 23 Alternatively, Plaintiff will file with the Court the first three pages of the application 24 to proceed in forma pauperis and an affidavit detailing the efforts he took to acquire both 25 a financial certificate and an inmate account statement from prison officials. 26 IT IS FURTHER ORDERED that, if Plaintiff does not file a fully complete 27 application to proceed in forma pauperis with all three documents or, alternatively, the 28 first three pages of the application to proceed in forma pauperis and an affidavit detailing 1 | the efforts he took to acquire both a financial certificate and an inmate account statement 2 | from prison officials, or pay the full $400 filing fee for a civil action on or before September 25,2020, the Court will dismiss this action without prejudice for Plaintiff to refile the case 4| with the Court, under a new case number, when Plaintiff has all three documents needed 5 | to file a complete application to proceed in forma pauperis. 6 DATED: July 28, 2020 . 7 Gr lea wOReD 8 UNITED STATES MAGISTRATE JUDGE 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28
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