Opinion
2:23-cv-01083-ART-DJA
10-04-2023
PAUL JONES, Plaintiff, v. WARDEN WILLIAMS, et al., Defendants.
ORDER
On July 21, 2023, this Court ordered Plaintiff to either pay the full $402 filing fee for this civil-rights action or file a fully complete application to proceed in forma pauperis by September 19, 2023. (ECF No. 4). Plaintiff timely filed an application to proceed in forma pauperis, but it is incomplete because Plaintiff did not submit a financial certificate that has been signed by a prison official and an inmate account statement for the previous six-month period with his application. (See ECF No. 5). Plaintiff also filed a “Motion for Default Judgment” that appears to seek an order granting him in forma pauperis status. (See ECF No. 7).
To the extent Plaintiff's motion seeks entry of default or default judgment, his requests are denied as premature. Default can be entered against a party who has failed to plead or otherwise defend against an action. Fed.R.Civ.P. 55(a). Default judgment can be entered against a party that has been defaulted if certain other requirements are met. See id. at 55(b). But this action is in the pre-screening stage, which means no defendant has been served with process and no defendant is currently required to defend against this action. And no defendant can be served with process, and thus be required to respond to this action, until the Court orders that to happen.
To the extent Plaintiff's motion seeks an extension of time to either pay the full filing fee or apply for in forma pauperis status, the Court grants that relief. Under 28 U.S.C. § 1915(a)(2) and Local Rule LSR 1-2, an inmate seeking to commence a civil action may apply to proceed in forma pauperis, which allows the inmate to file the civil action without prepaying the full $402 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 , on 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.
If Plaintiff is having difficulty obtaining the required financial certificate and inmate account statement for the previous six-month period from prison officials, then Plaintiff will file the first three pages of the application to proceed in forma pauperis on this Court's approved form together with a declaration detailing when he requested the documents, who he spoke to about the status of the documents, who he followed up with after he did not receive the documents, and their responses. Plaintiff's declaration will include dates of his requests, dates of his follow-up requests, names of the prison officials that he spoke to about the matter, and their responses. If Plaintiff's declaration demonstrates that he has done all that was possible to acquire the documents from prison officials, the Court will consider his application to proceed in forma pauperis complete.
Accordingly, IT IS HEREBY ORDERED that Plaintiff's incomplete application to proceed in forma pauperis (ECF No. 5) is denied without prejudice.
IT IS FURTHER ORDERED that Plaintiff's motion for default judgment (ECF No. 7) is construed as seeking an extension of time to either pay the filing fee or apply for in forma pauperis status, and that narrow relief is granted. The motion (ECF No. 7) is denied in all other respects.
IT IS FURTHER ORDERED that on or before November 2, 2023, Plaintiff will either pay the full $402 filing fee for a civil action or file a new fully complete application to proceed in forma pauperis with all three required documents: (1) a completed application to proceed in forma pauperis with the inmate's two signatures on page 3, (2) a financial certificate that is properly signed both by the inmate and a prison official, and (3) a copy of the inmate's prison trust fund account statement for the previous six-month period.
IT IS FURTHER ORDERED that on or before November 2, 2023, if Plaintiff is not able to obtain his financial certificate and inmate trust fund account statement from prison officials, Plaintiff will file the first three pages of the application to proceed in forma pauperis together with a declaration detailing the efforts he took to acquire the financial certificate and inmate account statement from prison officials.
IT IS FURTHER ORDERED that if Plaintiff does not either pay the full filing fee or file a fully complete application to proceed in forma pauperis with all three documents or, alternatively, file the first three pages of the application to proceed in forma pauperis and a declaration detailing the efforts he took to acquire the financial certificate and inmate account statement from prison officials, on or before November 2, 2023, the Court will recommend that this action be dismissed without prejudice. Dismissal without prejudice allows Plaintiff to refile his case with the Court, under a new case number, when he can either pay the required filing fee or apply to proceed in forma pauperis.
IT IS FURTHER ORDERED that the Clerk of the Court will resend Plaintiff Paul Jones the approved form application to proceed in forma pauperis for an inmate and instructions for the same and retain the complaint (ECF No. 3-1) but not file it at this time.