Opinion
Case No. 3:20-cv-00635-GMN-WGC
11-16-2020
JEREMY ESTEP, Plaintiff v. ELKO COUNTY SHERIFF, Defendant
ORDER
I. DISCUSSION
On November 12, 2020, Plaintiff, an inmate in the custody of the Nevada Department of Corrections ("NDOC"), submitted a civil rights complaint under 42 U.S.C. § 1983 and filed an application to proceed in forma pauperis. (ECF Nos. 1-1, 1). Plaintiff's application to proceed in forma pauperis is incomplete.
Under 28 U.S.C. § 1915(a)(2) and Local Rule LSR 1-2, an inmate seeking to begin a civil action in this Court may apply to proceed in forma pauperis in order to file the civil action without prepaying the full $400 filing fee. To apply for in forma pauperis 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 , this Court's approved form (i.e. pages 1 through 3 with the inmate's two signatures on page 3),
(2) a Financial Certificate properly signed by both the inmate and a prison or jail official (i.e. page 4 of this Court's approved form), and
(3) a copy of the inmate's prison or jail trust fund account statement for the previous six-month period.
Plaintiff has not submitted a Financial Certificate or inmate account statement for the previous six-month period. Accordingly, the Court denies Plaintiff's application to proceed in forma pauperis (ECF No. 1) without prejudice because the application is incomplete. The Court will grant Plaintiff a one-time extension to file a fully complete application to proceed in forma pauperis containing all three of the required documents. Plaintiff will file a fully complete application to proceed in forma pauperis on or before January 15, 2021. Absent unusual circumstances, the Court will not grant any further extensions of time. If Plaintiff does not file a fully complete application to proceed in forma pauperis with all three required documents on or before January 15, 2021, this case will be subject to dismissal without prejudice for Plaintiff to file a new case with the Court when Plaintiff is able to acquire all three of the documents needed to file a fully complete application to proceed in forma pauperis or pays the full $400 filing fee.
A dismissal without prejudice means Plaintiff does not give up the right to refile the case with the Court, under a new case number, when Plaintiff has all three documents needed to submit with the application to proceed in forma pauperis. Alternatively, Plaintiff may choose not to file an application to proceed in forma pauperis and instead pay the full filing fee of $400 on or before January 15, 2021 to proceed with this case.
The Court will retain Plaintiff's civil rights complaint (ECF No. 1-1), but the Court will not file the complaint unless and until Plaintiff timely files a fully complete application to proceed in forma pauperis with all three documents or pays the full $400 filing fee.
II. CONCLUSION
For the foregoing reasons, IT IS ORDERED that Plaintiff's application to proceed in forma pauperis (ECF No. 1) is denied without prejudice to file a new fully complete application to proceed in forma pauperis with all three documents.
IT IS FURTHER ORDERED that the Clerk of the Court will send Plaintiff the approved form application to proceed in forma pauperis by an inmate, as well as the document entitled information and instructions for filing an in forma pauperis application.
IT IS FURTHER ORDERED that on or before January 15, 2021, Plaintiff will either pay the full $400 filing fee for a civil action (which includes the $350 filing fee and the $50 administrative fee) or file with the Court:
(1) a completed Application to Proceed in Forma Pauperis for Inmate on this Court's approved form (i.e. pages 1 through 3 of the form with the inmate's two
signatures on page 3),
(2) a Financial Certificate properly signed by both the inmate and a prison or jail official (i.e. page 4 of this Court's approved form), and
(3) a copy of the inmate's prison or jail trust fund account statement for the previous six-month period.
IT IS FURTHER ORDERED that, if Plaintiff does not file a fully complete application to proceed in forma pauperis with all three documents or pay the full $400 filing fee for a civil action on or before January 15, 2021, this case will be subject to dismissal without prejudice for Plaintiff to refile the case with the Court, under a new case number, when Plaintiff has all three documents needed to file a complete application to proceed in forma pauperis or pays the the full $400 filing fee.
IT IS FURTHER ORDERED that the Clerk of the Court will retain the complaint (ECF No. 1-1) but will not file it at this time.
DATED: November 16, 2020
/s/_________
UNITED STATES MAGISTRATE JUDGE