Nehls v. Nebraska

• Court: District Court, D. Nebraska
• Decided: August 30, 2019
• Docket: 8:19-cv-00362
• Status: Unknown

Opinion

IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT FOR THE DISTRICT OF NEBRASKA

RICHARD NEHLS,

Plaintiff, 8:19CV362

vs. MEMORANDUM NEBRASKA, AND ORDER

Defendant.

Plaintiff Richard Nehls, a non-prisoner,1 filed a Motion for Leave to Proceed in Forma Pauperis. (Filing No. 2.) Upon review of Plaintiff’s Motion, the court finds that Plaintiff is financially eligible to proceed in forma pauperis.

IT IS THEREFORE ORDERED that leave to proceed in forma pauperis is granted, and the Complaint shall be filed without payment of fees. Plaintiff is advised that the next step in his case will be for the court to conduct an initial review of his claims to determine whether summary dismissal is appropriate under 28 U.S.C. § 1915(e)(2). The court will conduct this initial review in its normal course of business and will address Plaintiff’s other pending motion at that time.

1 The court is aware from other actions filed by Plaintiff in this court that Plaintiff is committed to a state mental institution. (See, e.g., Filing No. 1, Case No. 8:19CV337.) Thus, Plaintiff is not a “prisoner” within the meaning of the PLRA. See Reed v. Clarke, No. 4:04CV3168, 2005 WL 1075092, at *1 n.1 (D. Neb. May 5, 2005) (“The plaintiff is presently in the Lincoln Regional Center pursuant to a mental health commitment. The Prison Litigation Reform Act (‘PLRA’) does not apply to persons in custody pursuant to the Mental Health Commitment Act, as the definition of ‘prisoner’ in the PLRA does not include a person involuntarily committed for reasons of mental health.”) (citing Kolocotronis v. Morgan, 247 F.3d 726, 728 (8th Cir.2001)). Dated this 30th day of August, 2019.

BY THE COURT:

s/ Richard G. Kopf Senior United States District Judge