John Clark, III and Michael R. Wright v. Sergeant Rachel Rock, et al.

• Court: District Court, M.D. Florida
• Decided: January 6, 2026
• Docket: 8:25-cv-03536
• Status: Unknown

Opinion

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT MIDDLE DISTRICT OF FLORIDA TAMPA DIVISION

JOHN CLARK, III, and MICHAEL R. WRIGHT,

Plaintiffs,

v. CASE NO. 8:25-cv-3536-JLB-LSG

SERGEANT RACHEL ROCK, et al.,

Defendants. _________________________________/

ORDER Plaintiffs John Clark, III, and Michael R. Wright are prisoners incarcerated at Avon Park Correctional Institution who initiated this action, pro se, by filing a single complaint under 42 U.S.C. § 1983 (Doc. 1). The complaint is signed only by Plaintiff Clark (Id. at 11). Plaintiffs’ application to proceed in forma pauperis (Doc. 2) likewise is signed solely by Plaintiff Clark and includes only his prison bank statement information. Plaintiffs allege that they were subjected to excessive force, false disciplinary action, and inadequate medical care. Discussion The complaint must be dismissed without prejudice. First, the Prison Litigation Reform Act of 1995 (PLRA) prohibits multiple prisoners from avoiding payment of a filing fee by joining claims in a single case. Hubbard v. Haley, 262 F.3d

1 1194, 1198 (11th Cir. 2001). Thus, to comply with the PLRA, each prisoner must file a separate action in which he is responsible for the full filing fee. See id. (upholding district court’s dismissal of lawsuit wherein the multiple-prisoner plaintiffs

sought to proceed together in forma pauperis). Second, only Plaintiff Clark signed the complaint. He may not represent the interests of Plaintiff Wright, who is attempting to proceed in this action. See Massimo v. Henderson, 468 F.2d 1209, 1210 (5th Cir. 1972) (per curiam) (affirming dismissal of the portion of a prisoner’s complaint that

sought relief on behalf of the prisoner’s fellow inmates); Wallace v. Smith, 145 F. App’x 300, 302 (11th Cir. 2005) (per curiam) (citing Oxendine v. Williams, 509 F.2d 1405, 1407 (4th Cir. 1975) (finding it “plain error to permit [an] imprisoned litigant who is unassisted by counsel to represent his fellow inmates in a class action”) (alteration in original)).

Accordingly, it is ORDERED: 1. The complaint (Doc. 1) is DISMISSED WITHOUT PREJUDICE. Each Plaintiff may re-file by individually filing his complaint in a new case with a new case number and either paying the full filing fee or submitting an individual motion to proceed in forma pauperis with a supporting financial affidavit if he cannot afford to pay

the filing fee in its entirety. 2. The motion to proceed in forma pauperis (Doc. 2) is DENIED as moot. 3. The Clerk is DIRECTED to (1) close this case and (2) send to both

2 Clark and Wright a civil rights complaint form and a motion for leave to proceed in forma pauperis form with their copies of this Order. DONE and ORDERED in Tampa, Florida, on January 6, 2026.

JOHN L. BADALAMENTI UNITED STATES DISTRICT JUDGE