Clark v. McCormick

Opinion

2 UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT 3 DISTRICT OF NEVADA 4 * * * 5 LON ALLEN CLARK, Case No. 2:21-cv-00173-RFB-DJA 6 Plaintiff, 7 ORDER v. 8 CORY MCCORMICK, et al., 9 Defendants. 10 11 12 Before the Court are Plaintiff Lon Allen Clark’s motions to request instructions for serving 13 summons (ECF No. 15), to change address (ECF No. 16), and for a copy of the complaint (ECF 14 No. 18). Plaintiff is a detainee proceeding in forma pauperis. After receiving leave to proceed on 15 his excessive force claims against Defendants McCormick, the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police 16 Department, and the City of Las Vegas (ECF No. 10), Plaintiff filed the instant motions. Because 17 Plaintiff appears to have misunderstood prior instructions for serving summons, the Court grants 18 his motion for instructions (ECF No. 15). Plaintiff’s motion to change his address does not explain 19 how the proposed address will ensure proper service and the Court cannot provide Plaintiff with 20 copies. Plaintiff’s motions to change address (ECF No. 16) and for a copy of the complaint (ECF 21 No. 18) are thus denied. The Court finds these matters properly resolved without a hearing. LR 22 78-1. 23 I. Background. 24 Plaintiff received leave to proceed on his excessive force claims on March 25, 2021 (ECF 25 No. 10). Plaintiff had 30 days to furnish the U.S. Marshal with USM-285 forms and 90 days to 26 accomplish service. (ECF No. 10). Plaintiff missed the 30-day deadline and, before the 90-day 27 deadline had passed, filed his motion to request instructions for serving the summons. (ECF No. 1 15). Plaintiff filed his motion to change address (ECF No. 16) the same day as his motion for 2 instructions. A few days later, Plaintiff filed his motion for a copy of the complaint (ECF No. 18). 3 II. Discussion. 4 A. The Court grants Plaintiff’s motion for instructions. 5 Plaintiff’s motion for instructions is granted. Plaintiff requests that the Clerk’s Office send 6 him instructions at his expense on “Summons [sic] Service.” Following the mandate to liberally 7 construe pro se pleadings, the Court notes that Plaintiff appears to have misunderstood the Court’s 8 prior instructions ordering the Plaintiff to send his USM-285 forms to the U.S. Marshal (ECF No. 9 10). See Balistreri v. Pacifica Police Dep’t, 901 F.2d 696, 699 (9th Cir. 1990); see Blaisdell v. 10 Frappiea, 729 F.3d 1237, 1241 (9th Cir. 2013). Although Plaintiff missed the deadline to send his 11 USM-285 forms, he filed his request for instructions before the deadline to complete service. This 12 is also Plaintiff’s first missed deadline. 13 The Court thus grants Plaintiff’s motions for instructions by reiterating the instructions in 14 its prior order (ECF No. 10) and providing Plaintiff with additional time to complete service under 15 Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 4(m). The Clerk’s Office shall send Plaintiff six USM-285 forms. 16 Plaintiff is instructed to complete one USM-285 form for each named defendant after which 17 Plaintiff has 30 days from the date of this Order to mail his completed forms to the U.S. Marshal at 18 333 Las Vegas Boulevard South, Suite 2058, Las Vegas, NV 89101. The U.S. Marshal will then 19 effectuate service under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 4(c)(3). Plaintiff is advised to closely 20 follow deadlines and procedures in the future. 21 B. The Court denies Plaintiff’s motion to change his address. 22 Plaintiff’s motion to change address is denied. In his motion, it appears Plaintiff seeks to 23 change his address to his home address because his mail is “being tampered with.” (ECF No. 16). 24 Based on Plaintiff’s filings, it appears that Plaintiff is currently housed at the Clark County 25 Detention Center (CCDC), making it his “last known address” for the purposes of service by mail. 26 See Fed. R. Civ. P. 5(b)(2)(C). To the extent Plaintiff requests service under Federal Rule of Civil 27 Procedure 5(b)(2)(B)—by leaving documents at his home with someone of suitable age and 1 documents to him lives at the address he has provided. And even then, whether the address he 2 provided is his “usual place of abode” is questionable given his current detained status. However, 3 the Court need not reach that question because Plaintiff has not provided enough information in his 4 request to explain why his new address should be the one in his motion rather than CCDC. 5 Plaintiff’s motion to change address (ECF No. 16) is denied. 6 C. The Court denies Plaintiff’s motion for a copy of the complaint. 7 Plaintiff’s motion for copies is denied. Plaintiff’s motion for a copy of the complaint 8 appears to ask for a copy of each of the documents filed in his case. (ECF No. 18). Plaintiff adds 9 that he is requesting the copies at his own expense. The Court is not responsible for providing 10 copies of court filings to litigants. See 28 U.S.C. § 1915. There is a per page charge for copy work 11 of $.10 per page for copies produced in an electronic format (CM/ECF) and $.50 for copies 12 produced in a physical format. The Court cannot provide copies or mailing service for parties, even 13 indigent plaintiffs proceeding in forma pauperis. If Plaintiff would like copies of items on the 14 docket, he must fill out the appropriate paperwork and pay for them. 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 1 IT IS THEREFORE ORDERED that Plaintiffs motion to request instructions for serving 2 || summons (ECF No. 15) is granted. 3 IT IS FURTHER ORDERED that: 4 1. The Clerk’s Office shall SEND 6 USM-285 forms to Plaintiff. 5 2. Plaintiff must complete one USM-285 form for each named defendant. 6 3. Plaintiff has 30 days from the date of this Order to send his completed forms to the U.S. 7 Marshal at 333 Las Vegas Boulevard South, Suite 2058, Las Vegas, NV 89101. 8 4. Under Rule 4(m) of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, service must be accomplished 9 within 90 days from the date of this Order. 10 IT IS FURTHER ORDERED that Plaintiff's motion to change address (ECF No. 16) is 11 denied. 12 IT IS FURTHER ORDERED that Plaintiff's motion for a copy of the complaint (ECF 13 No. 18) is denied. 14 DATED: June 25, 2021 15 > < DANIEL J. ALBREGTS 16 UNITED STATES MAGISTRATE JUDGE 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28