Green v. State of Nevada

Opinion

DEMATHEUS GREEN, Case No.: 2:23-cv-02050-CDS-BNW Plaintiff, v. STATE OF NEVADA, et al., Defendants.

On December 12, 2023, pro se plaintiff Dematheus Green, an inmate in the custody of the

Nevada Department of Corrections, submitted a complaint under 42 U.S.C. § 1983. (ECF No. 1-

1). But Plaintiff did not personally sign the complaint. (See id. at 6). And Plaintiff has neither paid

the full $405 filing fee nor applied to proceed in forma pauperis in this action. (See ECF No. 1).

“A civil action is commenced by filing a complaint with the court.” Fed. R. Civ. P. 3. “A

civil-rights complaint filed by a person who is not represented by an attorney must be submitted

on the form provided by this court or must be legible and contain substantially all the information

called for by the court’s form.” Nev. Loc. R. LSR 2-1. And the complaint must be signed

personally by the unrepresented party. Fed. R. Civ. P. 11(a).

Moreover, this Court must collect filing fees from parties initiating civil actions. 28 U.S.C.

§ 1914(a). The fee for filing a civil-rights action is $405, which includes the $350 filing fee and

the $55 administrative fee. See 28 U.S.C. § 1914(b). “Any person who is unable to prepay the fees

in a civil case may apply to the court for leave to proceed in forma pauperis.” Nev. Loc. R. LSR

1-1. For an inmate 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, which is pages 1–3 of the Court’s approved form, that is properly signed by the inmate

twice on page 3; (2) a completed Financial Certificate, which is page 4 of the Court’s approved

form, that is properly signed by both the inmate and a prison or jail official; and (3) a copy of the

inmate’s prison or jail trust fund account statement for the previous six-month period. See

28 U.S.C. § 1915(a)(1)–(2); Nev. Loc. R. LSR 1-2. In forma pauperis status does not relieve an imate of his or her obligation to pay the filing fee, it just means that the inmate can pay the fee in installments. See 28 U.S.C. § 1915(b). It is therefore ordered that Plaintiff must submit a signed first amended complaint to this Court on or before February 20, 2024. It is further ordered that if Plaintiff chooses to file an amended complaint, he is advised that an amended complaint replaces the original complaint, so the amended complaint must be complete in itself. See Hal Roach Studios, Inc. v. Richard Feiner & Co., Inc., 896 F.2d 1542, 1546 g| (9th Cir. 1989). This means the amended complaint must contain all claims, defendants, and factual allegations that Plaintiff wishes to pursue in this action. Thus, the submission of a mere signature page will not be enough. Moreover, Plaintiff should file the amended complaint on this Court’s approved civil-rights form, and it must be titled “First Amended Complaint.” It is further ordered that, on or before February 20, 2024, Plaintiff must either pay the full $405 filing fee or file a fully complete application to proceed in forma pauperis with all three required documents: (1) a completed application with the inmate’s two signatures on page 3, (2) a completed financial certificate that is signed both by the inmate and the prison or jail official, and (3) acopy of the inmate’s trust fund account statement for the previous six-month period. Plaintiff is cautioned that this action will be subject to dismissal without prejudice if Plaintiff fails to timely comply with this order. A dismissal without prejudice allows Plaintiff to refile the case with the Court, under a new case number, when Plaintiff can file a signed complaint and either file complete application to proceed in forma pauperis or pay the required filing fee. 71 The Clerk of the Court is directed to update the docket to reflect that Plaintiffs last name is Green and send Plaintiff the approved form for filing a 42 U.S.C. § 1983 complaint and instructions for the same and the application to proceed in forma pauperis for an inmate and instructions for the same. DATED THIS 20th day of December 2023. ‘Lsente tates