Opinion
Cause No. 3:05-CV-628 RM.
January 30, 2006
OPINION AND ORDER
Terry Paul Hyser, a pro se prisoner, has filed a complaint, an addendum, a motion to amend, and numerous other letters and motions totaling more than 300 pages. Many of these filings are written so small and with such minimal spacing and margins that they are quite difficult to read. Mr. Hyser's claims are a rambling discussion of nearly every facet of his prison life in which Mr. Hyser portends to represent every prisoner incarcerated in every facility of the Indiana Department of Correction (approximately 26,000 by his count).
Under Rule 23(a)(4), a class representative must fairly and adequately protect the interests of the class. A litigant may bring his own claims to federal court without counsel, but not the claims of others. This is so because the competence of a layman is clearly too limited to allow him to risk the rights of others.Fymbo v. State Farm, 213 F.3d 1320, 1321 (10th Cir. 2000) (citations and quotation marks omitted). Mr. Hyser filed this case pro se and cannot adequately represent his fellow inmates, he may only represent himself.
Under 28 U.S.C. § 1915A, the court must review the merits of a prisoner complaint and dismiss it if the action is frivolous or malicious, fails to state a claim upon which relief may be granted, or seeks monetary relief against a defendant who is immune from such relief. Such a review of Mr. Hyser's complaint is not reasonable because Mr. Hyser's claims are spread across hundreds of pages in at least a dozen documents. Therefore Mr. Hyser must file a single amended complaint containing all of his claims. See FED. R. CIV. P. 8. Mr. Hyser must file a short, plain statement separately stating each claim, specifically identifying each defendant, particularly describing how he was injured by each defendant, and explaining what relief he seeks for himself.
Mr. Hyser has filed many motions for injunctive relief. To the extent that he seeks relief for others, those motions must be denied. To the extent that he seeks relief for himself, until this court has received a single legible complaint and determined that it states a claim for which relief can be granted, it cannot properly evaluate the appropriateness of a preliminary injunction arising out of a valid claim presented in the complaint.
Mr. Hyser has also filed several motions seeking to have counsel appointed. "If . . . the indigent has made no reasonable attempts to secure counsel . . ., the court should deny any [such] motions outright." Jackson v. County of McLean, 953 F.2d 1070, 1073 (7th Cir. 1992). Given the broad class action Mr. Hyser appeared to seek and the ambiguity of his current filings with court, any efforts to obtain counsel based upon such representations could not be reasonable attempts.
Finally, Mr. Hyser has filed several motions seeking rulings on his pending motions. This order, having now addressed all pending motions, renders those motions moot.
For the foregoing reasons, the court:
(1) GRANTS the motion to amend (docket # 29) and GRANTS Terry Paul Hyser to and including February 24, 2006 to file an amended complaint containing a short, plain statement separately stating each claim, specifically identifying each defendant, particularly describing how he was injured by each defendant, and explaining what relief he seeks for himself;
(2) DIRECTS the clerk to place the cause number of this case on a blank 42 U.S.C. § 1983 Prisoner Complaint form and include it with the copy of this order that is mailed to Mr. Hyser;
(3) DENIES the motions for injunctive relief (docket ## 6, 15, 17, 30, and 33);
(4) DENIES the motions for appointment of counsel (docket ## 3, 23, and 27); and
(5) DENIES AS MOOT the motions seeking rulings (docket ## 13, 24, and 25).
SO ORDERED.