Timothy William Bieler v. W.C.D.F., et al.

Opinion

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TIMOTHY WILLIAM BIELER, Case No. 3:25-cv-00587-ART-CLB

Plaintiff, ORDER v. W.C.D.F,, et al., Defendants.

Plaintiff Timothy William Bieler initiated this civil-rights case under 42 U.S.C. § 1983 by filing an application to proceed in forma pauperis (”IFP”), a motion to dismiss state criminal proceedings, and a motion for injunctive relief related to state criminal proceedings and/or his detention pursuant to those proceedings. (ECF Nos. 1, 1-1, 2.) There are two issues with Plaintiff’s filings. First, he did not submit a complaint. Second, his IFP application is incomplete because it is not accompanied by a completed financial certificate or a copy of his inmate trust fund account statement for the prior six-month period. The Court will deny Plaintiff’s IFP application without prejudice and give Plaintiff an opportunity to correct these deficiencies by January 30, 2026. The Court also cautions Plaintiff against pursuing duplicative litigation. A. Plaintiff Must Address the Matter of the Filing Fee This Court must collect filing fees from parties initiating civil actions. 28 U.S.C. § 1914(a). As of December 1, 2023, 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.” LSR 1-1. For an inmate to apply for IFP 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 properly signed by both the inmate and a jail or prison official; and (3) a copy of the inmate’s jail or prison trust fund account statement for the previous six-month period. See 28 U.S.C. § 1915(a)(1)–(2); LSR 1-2. IFP status does not relieve inmates of their obligation to pay the filing fee, it just means that an inmate can pay the fee in installments. See 28 U.S.C. § 1915(b). B. Plaintiff Must Submit a Complaint “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.” LSR 2-1. And because Plaintiff is representing himself, he must personally sign every filing he submits to the Court. See Fed. R. Civ. P. 11(a). C. Plaintiff Should Not Pursue Duplicative Lawsuits As noted in a recent order entered by another judge of this Court,1 Plaintiff has filed at least 10 cases in this district since his arrest in June 2025 challenging matters like the fact of his arrest and detention, events that allegedly happened during his arrest and detention, and/or events that allegedly happened during his pending state criminal proceedings. See Bieler v. State of Nev., Case No. 3:25-cv-00417-ART-CSD (filed Aug. 11, 2025); Bieler v. State of Nev., Case No. 3:25-cv-00449-ART-CSD (filed Aug. 25, 2025); Bieler v. State of Nev., Case No. 3:25-cv-00582-MMD-CSD (filed Oct. 16, 2025); Bieler v. W.C.D.F., Case No. 3:25-cv-00587-ART-CLB (filed Oct. 17, 2025); Bieler v. State of Nev., Case No. 3:25-cv-00619-ART-CSD (filed Oct. 30, 2025); Bieler v. State of Nev., Case No. 3:25-cv-00645-ART-CSD (filed Nov. 12, 2025); Bieler v. State of Nev., Case No. 3:25-cv-00652-ART-CLB (filed Nov. 13, 2025); Bieler v. State of Nev., Case No. 3:25-cv-00655-ART-CSD (filed Nov. 14, 2025); Bieler v. State of Nev., Case No. 3:25- 1 See Bieler v. State of Nev., Case No. 3:25-cv-00645-ART-CSD, ECF No. 5 at 2–3 MMD-CSD (filed Dec. 4, 2025). Plaintiff is cautioned that duplicative litigation by a plaintiff proceeding in forma pauperis may be dismissed as malicious under 28 U.S.C. § 1915(e) and constitute a strike under the Prison Litigation Reform Act (“PLRA”). See Cato v. United States, 70 F.3d 1103, 1105 n.2 (9th Cir. 1995) (collecting cases). Prisoners accrue a strike under the PLRA by filing, while detained or incarcerated, a civil lawsuit or appeal in federal court that is dismissed as frivolous, malicious, or for failing to state a claim. 28 U.S.C. § 1915(g). Prisoners with three such strikes may not proceed in forma pauperis in later actions absent allegations showing “the prisoner is under imminent danger of serious physical injury.” 28 U.S.C. § 1915(g); accord Andrews v. Cervantes, 493 F.3d 1047, 1055–56 (9th Cir. 2007). If Plaintiff believes that he is needlessly pursuing duplicative lawsuits, and no party has served an answer or motion for summary judgment, then he may file a notice under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 41(a)(1)(A)(i) voluntarily dismissing a later-filed duplicative lawsuit. See Duke Energy Trading & Marketing, LLC v. Davis, 267 F.3d 1042, 1049 (9th Cir. 2001) (explaining that Rule 41(a)(1)(i) dismissal has the effect that no case was brought). Accordingly, IT IS ORDERED that Plaintiff’s incomplete IFP application (ECF No. 1) is DENIED without prejudice. IT IS FURTHER ORDERED that Plaintiff has until January 30, 2026, to either pay the full $405 filing fee or file a new fully complete IFP application with all three required documents: (1) a completed IFP application with the inmate’s two signatures on page 3, (2) a financial certificate that is properly signed both by the inmate and jail official, and (3) a copy of the inmate’s trust fund account statement for the previous six-month period. IT IS FURTHER ORDERED that Plaintiff has until January 30, 2026, to submit a signed complaint in this case. 1 Plaintiff is cautioned that this action will be subject to dismissal without prejudice if he 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 submit a complaint. The Clerk of Court is directed to send Plaintiff (1) this Court's approved 42 U.S.C. § 1983 complaint form with instructions and (2) this Court’s approved IFP application for an inmate with instructions. DATED: December 31, 2025. ‘ UNITED STATES'‘MAGISTRATE JUDGE