Randy Buckmaster v. State of South Dakota; Larry Rhoden, Governor of the State of South Dakota, in official capacity; Nicholas Lamb, Secretary of Corrections at Department of Corrections, individual and official capacity; Alejandro Reyes, Warden of MDSP at Mike Durfee State Prison, individual and official capacity; Bill Swangy, Food Service Aramarck [sic] Supervisor at Mike Durfee State Prison, individual and official capacity; Tammy Doyle, individual and official capacity; Amber Babutzke, Sergeant of Harmon Unit at MDSP, individual and official capacity; Stephanie Hamilton, Health Services Administration at MDSP, individual and official capacity; and Rachel Tycz, Head of Nursing at MDSP, individual and official capacity.

District Court, D. South Dakota·Decided July 30, 2026·No. 4:26-cv-04092·Unknown

Opinion

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT DISTRICT OF SOUTH DAKOTA SOUTHERN DIVISION

RANDY BUCKMASTER, 4:26-CV-04092-KES

Plaintiff,

vs. ORDER GRANTING PLAINTIFF’S MOTION FOR LEAVE TO PROCEED STATE OF SOUTH DAKOTA; LARRY IN FORMA PAUPERIS AND 1915A RHODEN, Governor of the State of SCREENING South Dakota, in official capacity; NICHOLAS LAMB, Secretary of Corrections at Department of Corrections, individual and official capacity; ALEJANDRO REYES, Warden of MDSP at Mike Durfee State Prison, individual and official capacity; BILL SWANGY, Food Service Aramarck [sic] Supervisor at Mike Durfee State Prison, individual and official capacity; TAMMY DOYLE, individual and official capacity; AMBER BABUTZKE, Sergeant of Harmon Unit at MDSP, individual and official capacity; STEPHANIE HAMILTON, Health Services Administration at MDSP, individual and official capacity; and RACHEL TYCZ, Head of Nursing at MDSP, individual and official capacity,

Defendants.

Plaintiff, Randy Buckmaster, an inmate at Mike Durfee State Prison, filed a pro se civil rights lawsuit under 42 U.S.C. § 1983. Docket 1; Docket 1-2. Buckmaster also filed a motion for leave to proceed in forma pauperis and provided his prisoner trust account report. Dockets 2, 3. Additionally, Buckmaster filed a motion for preliminary injunction alleging that he is under risk of imminent harm due to defendants not accommodating his life-threatening food allergy. Docket 5. The court also

liberally construes this to be a motion to file a supplemental pleading, because it appears Buckmaster intended to “cover matters subsequently occurring but pertaining to the original cause.” United States v. Vorachek, 563 F.2d 884, 886 (8th Cir. 1977) (citation omitted); see generally Docket 5. See also Erickson v. Pardus, 551 U.S. 89, 94 (2007) (per curiam) (“A document filed pro se is to be liberally construed, and a pro se complaint, however inartfully pleaded, must be held to less stringent standards than formal pleadings drafted by lawyers.” (citation modified)).

Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 15(d) provides that “[o]n motion and reasonable notice, the court may, on just terms, permit a party to serve a supplemental pleading setting out any transaction, occurrence, or event that happened after the date of the pleading to be supplemented.” Fed. R. Civ. P. 15(d). “The decision whether to permit a party to supplement the pleadings is committed to the broad discretion of the district court.” Favors v. Mike, 2021 WL 222935, at *5 (D. Minn. Jan. 22, 2021) (citing Minnesota Min. & Mfg. Co. v. Superior Insulating Tape Co., 284 F.2d 478, 481 (8th Cir. 1960)). Therefore, to

the extent that Buckmaster intended to file a motion to supplement in order to set forth new facts that have occurred since he filed his original complaint, that motion (Docket 5) is granted, and the court will consider the additional facts in Buckmaster’s motion when screening.1 I. Motion for Leave to Proceed In Forma Pauperis

Under the Prison Litigation Reform Act, a prisoner who “brings a civil action or files an appeal in forma pauperis . . . shall be required to pay the full amount of a filing fee.” 28 U.S.C. § 1915(b)(1). The court may, however, accept partial payment of the initial filing fee where appropriate. Therefore, “[w]hen an inmate seeks pauper status, the only issue is whether the inmate pays the entire fee at the initiation of the proceeding or over a period of time under an installment plan.” Henderson v. Norris, 129 F.3d 481, 483 (8th Cir. 1997) (per curiam) (alteration in original) (quoting McGore v. Wrigglesworth, 114 F.3d 601,

604 (6th Cir. 1997)). The initial partial filing fee that accompanies an installment plan is calculated according to 28 U.S.C. § 1915(b)(1), which requires a payment of 20 percent of the greater of: (A) the average monthly deposits to the prisoner’s account; or (B) the average monthly balance in the prisoner’s account for the 6- month period immediately preceding the filing of the complaint or notice of appeal.

Buckmaster reports an average monthly balance for the past six months in his prisoner trust account of $3.01 and average monthly deposits of $26.89.

1 The court only grants Buckmaster’s motion to supplement to the extent that it sets out new facts. It is not clear to this court whether Buckmaster intended to alter the defendants named in his complaint, see Docket 5 at 3, 5, or to assert additional claims, see id. at 3. Therefore, if Buckmaster intends to assert additional claims or alter the defendants he named in his complaint, he must file an amended complaint or move for leave to file a supplemental complaint if the additional claims arose after he filed his initial complaint. Docket 3 at 1. Based on this information, the court grants Buckmaster’s motion for leave to proceed in forma pauperis (Docket 2) and waives his initial partial filing fee because the initial partial filing fee would be greater than his

current balance. See 28 U.S.C. § 1915(b)(4) (“In no event shall a prisoner be prohibited from bringing a civil action . . . for the reason that the prisoner has no assets and no means by which to pay the initial partial filing fee.”). In order to pay his filing fee, Buckmaster must “make monthly payments of 20 percent of the preceding month’s income credited to the prisoner’s account.” 28 U.S.C. § 1915(b)(2). The statute places the burden on the prisoner’s institution to collect the additional monthly payments and forward them to the court as follows:

After payment of the initial partial filing fee, the prisoner shall be required to make monthly payments of 20 percent of the preceding month’s income credited to the prisoner’s account. The agency having custody of the prisoner shall forward payments from the prisoner’s account to the clerk of the court each time the amount in the account exceeds $10 until the filing fees are paid.

Id. The installments will be collected pursuant to this procedure. The Clerk of Court will send a copy of this order to the appropriate financial official at Buckmaster’s institution. Buckmaster remains responsible for the entire filing fee as long as he is a prisoner. See In re Tyler, 110 F.3d 528, 529–30 (8th Cir. 1997). II. 1915A Screening A. Factual Background Alleged by Buckmaster The current action stems from events occurring at Mike Durfee State Prison (MDSP). Docket 1 at 1. Count I of Buckmaster’s complaint arises from an incident occurring on February 25, 2026, when he ate from a regular tray at dinner chow. Id. at 4. According to Buckmaster, “[t]he menu for this meal was to have Vanilla Frosted Yellow Cake. [He] didn’t think twice about it and ate the

cake.” Docket 1-1 at 4. But after he ate the cake, Buckmaster began to have an allergic reaction. Docket 1 at 4. When he returned to his unit after dinner, the staff sent him to health services. Id.

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Randy Buckmaster v. State of South Dakota; Larry Rhoden, Governor of the State of South Dakota, in official capacity; Nicholas Lamb, Secretary of Corrections at Department of Corrections, individual and official capacity; Alejandro Reyes, Warden of MDSP at Mike Durfee State Prison, individual and official capacity; Bill Swangy, Food Service Aramarck [sic] Supervisor at Mike Durfee State Prison, individual and official capacity; Tammy Doyle, individual and official capacity; Amber Babutzke, Sergeant of Harmon Unit at MDSP, individual and official capacity; Stephanie Hamilton, Health Services Administration at MDSP, individual and official capacity; and Rachel Tycz, Head of Nursing at MDSP, individual and official capacity., (D.S.D. 2026).

Randy Buckmaster v. State of South Dakota; Larry Rhoden, Governor of the State of South Dakota, in official capacity; Nicholas Lamb, Secretary of Corrections at Department of Corrections, individual and official capacity; Alejandro Reyes, Warden of MDSP at Mike Durfee State Prison, individual and official capacity; Bill Swangy, Food Service Aramarck [sic] Supervisor at Mike Durfee State Prison, individual and official capacity; Tammy Doyle, individual and official capacity; Amber Babutzke, Sergeant of Harmon Unit at MDSP, individual and official capacity; Stephanie Hamilton, Health Services Administration at MDSP, individual and official capacity; and Rachel Tycz, Head of Nursing at MDSP, individual and official capacity. (Randy Buckmaster v. State of South Dakota; Larry Rhoden, Governor of the State of South Dakota, in official capacity; Nicholas Lamb, Secretary of Corrections at Department of Corrections, individual and official capacity; Alejandro Reyes, Warden of MDSP at Mike Durfee State Prison, individual and official capacity; Bill Swangy, Food Service Aramarck [sic] Supervisor at Mike Durfee State Prison, individual and official capacity; Tammy Doyle, individual and official capacity; Amber Babutzke, Sergeant of Harmon Unit at MDSP, individual and official capacity; Stephanie Hamilton, Health Services Administration at MDSP, individual and official capacity; and Rachel Tycz, Head of Nursing at MDSP, individual and official capacity.) — published by Counsel Stack Legal Research, free access to 12M+ legal documents.

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