Vidal v. Lombardo

Opinion

1 UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT

2 DISTRICT OF NEVADA

3 * * *

4 FRANCISCO VIDAL, et al., Case No. 2:19-cv-01578-RFB-EJY

5 Plaintiffs, ORDER 6 v.

7 SHERIFF JOE LOMBARDO, et al.,

8 Defendants.

10 I. DISCUSSION 11 A. Plaintiff Cannot Represent Other Plaintiffs. 12 On September 9, 2019, Plaintiff Francisco Vidal, an inmate in the custody of the Nevada 13 Department of Corrections (“NDOC”), submitted a civil rights complaint under 42 U.S.C. § 1983. 14 (ECF No. 1-1). In his pro se complaint, Plaintiff Vidal included three additional plaintiffs. Pursuant 15 to 28 U.S.C. § 1654, pro se litigants have the right to plead claims on their own behalf and, as is 16 generally true, may not plead claims on behalf of others. Cato v. United States, 70 F.3d 1103, 1105 17 n.1 (9th Cir. 1995); C.E. Pope Equity Trust v. United States, 818 F.2d 696, 697 (9th Cir. 1987). As 18 such, if each additional plaintiff named in the complaint at ECF No. 1-1 wishes to pursue an action 19 in this Court, each plaintiff is required to file his or her own complaint in a new and separate case. 20 Each individual must also either file his/her own fully completed application to proceed in forma 21 pauperis or pay the full $400 filing fee. 22 Plaintiff Vidal, and any individual named by Vidal who may file a new case with the Court, 23 must maintain a current address with the Court and keep such addresses updated. The Court notes 24 that pursuant to Nevada Local Rule of Practice IA 3-1, a “pro se party must immediately file with 25 the court written notification of any change of mailing address, email address, telephone number, or 26 facsimile number. The notification must include proof of service on each opposing party or the 27 party’s attorney. Failure to comply with this rule may result in the dismissal of the action, entry of 1 B. Plaintiff Vidal’s Failure To Pay The Filing Fee Or Submit IFP Paperwork. 2 On September 9, 2019, with Plaintiff Vidal’s submitted his Complaint to the Court, but 3 neither paid the full $400 filing fee nor filed an application to proceed in forma pauperis. Under 28 4 U.S.C. § 1915(a)(2) and Local Rule LSR 1-2, an inmate seeking to begin a civil action in this Court 5 may apply to proceed in forma pauperis in order to file the civil action without prepaying the full 6 $400 filing fee. To apply for in forma pauperis status, the inmate must submit all three of the 7 following documents to the Court: 8 (1) a completed Application to Proceed in Forma Pauperis for Inmate, this Court’s 9 approved form (i.e. pages 1 through 3 with the inmate’s two signatures on page 3), 10 (2) a Financial Certificate properly signed by both the inmate and a prison or jail official 11 (i.e. page 4 of this Court’s approved form), and 12 (3) a copy of the inmate’s prison or jail trust fund account statement for the previous 13 six-month period. 14 The Court grants Plaintiff Vidal a one-time opportunity to file a fully complete application 15 to proceed in forma pauperis containing all three of the required documents or, in the alternative, 16 pay the full $400 filing fee for this action on or before June 8, 2020. Absent unusual circumstances, 17 the Court will not grant any further extensions of time. If Plaintiff Vidal is unable to file a fully 18 complete application to proceed in forma pauperis with all three required documents or pay the full 19 $400 filing fee on or before June 8, 2020, the Court will dismiss this case without prejudice and 20 Plaintiff Vidal may file a new case with the Court when Plaintiff Vidal is either able to acquire all 21 three of the documents needed to file a fully complete application to proceed in forma pauperis or 22 pay the full $400 filing fee. 23 To clarify, a dismissal without prejudice means Plaintiff Vidal does not give up the right to 24 refile the case with the Court, under a new case number, when he has all three documents needed to 25 submit with an application to proceed in forma pauperis. Alternatively, Plaintiff Vidal may choose 26 not to file an application to proceed in forma pauperis and instead pay the full filing fee of $400 on 27 or before June 8, 2020 to proceed with this case. The Court will retain Plaintiff Vidal’s civil rights 1 complaint (ECF No. 1-1), but the Court will not file the complaint unless and until Plaintiff Vidal 2 timely files a fully complete application to proceed in forma pauperis with all three documents or 3 pays the full $400 filing fee. 4 II. CONCLUSION 5 For the foregoing reasons, IT IS HEREBY ORDERED that the Clerk of the Court shall send 6 Plaintiff Vidal the approved form application to proceed in forma pauperis by an inmate, as well as 7 the document entitled information and instructions for filing an in forma pauperis application. 8 IT IS FURTHER ORDERED that, if each additional plaintiff named in the complaint at ECF 9 No. 1-1 wishes to pursue an action in this Court, each plaintiff is required to file their own complaint 10 in a new and separate case and submit either their own fully complete application to proceed in forma 11 pauperis with all three documents or pay the full $400 filing fee. 12 IT IS FURTHER ORDERED that on or before June 8, 2020, Plaintiff Vidal shall either pay 13 the full $400 filing fee for a civil action (which includes the $350 filing fee and the $50 14 administrative fee) or file with the Court: 15 (1) a completed Application to Proceed in Forma Pauperis for Inmate on this Court’s 16 approved form (i.e. pages 1 through 3 of the form with the inmate’s two signatures on 17 page 3); 18 (2) a Financial Certificate properly signed by both the inmate and a prison or jail official 19 (i.e. page 4 of this Court’s approved form); and 20 (3) a copy of the inmate’s prison or jail trust fund account statement for the previous 21 six-month period. 22 IT IS FURTHER ORDERED that, if Plaintiff Vidal does not file a fully complete application 23 to proceed in forma pauperis with all three documents or pay the full $400 filing fee for a civil action 24 on or before June 8, 2020, the Court will dismiss this action without prejudice and Plaintiff Vidal 25 may refile the case with the Court, under a new case number, when he has all three documents needed 26 to file a complete application to proceed in forma pauperis or pays the full $400 filing fee. 27 1 IT IS FURTHER ORDERED that the Clerk of the Court shall retain the complaint (ECF 2 No.1-1) but will not file it at this time. 3 DATED: April 13, 2020

5 ELAYNA J. YOUCHAH UNITED STATES MAGISTRATE JUDGE 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27