Opinion
2:23-cv-01121-APG-DJA
07-26-2023
CHARLES MCNEES, DAVID BRESSELSMITH, and TONEY A. WHITE, Plaintiff, v. RONALD OLIVER, et al., Defendants.
ORDER
On July 18, 2023, pro se plaintiffs Charles McNees, David Bresselsmith, and Toney A. White, inmates in the custody of the Nevada Department of Corrections, submitted a complaint under 42 U.S.C. § 1983. (ECF No. 1-1). A couple days later, the plaintiffs filed an amended complaint. (ECF No. 3). A few days after that, Bresselsmith submitted an application to proceed in forma pauperis. (ECF No. 5). Neither McNees nor White submitted applications to proceed in forma pauperis. Bresselsmith's application to proceed in forma pauperis is incomplete because Bresselsmith did not include a completed financial certificate and an inmate trust fund account statement for the previous six-month period with his application. The Court will deny Bresselsmith's application without prejudice and give Bresselsmith the opportunity to correct these deficiencies by September 22, 2023. Additionally, both McNees and White need to file fully complete applications to proceed in forma pauperis by September 22, 2023.
I. DISCUSSION
The United States District Court for the District of Nevada must collect filing fees from parties initiating civil actions. 28 U.S.C. § 1914(a). The fee for filing a civil-rights action is $402, which includes the $350 filing fee and the $52 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.” Nev. Loc. R. Prac. LSR 1-1. For an inmate 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, which is pages 1-3 of the Court's approved form, that is properly signed by the inmate twice on page 3; (2) a completed Financial Certificate,which is page 4 of the Court's approved form, that is properly signed by both the inmate and a prison or jail official; and (3) a copy of the inmate's prison or jail trust fund account statement for the previous six-month period. See 28 U.S.C. § 1915(a)(1)-(2); Nev. Loc. R. Prac. LSR 1-2. In forma pauperis status does not relieve an inmate of his or her obligation to pay the filing fee, it just means that the inmate can pay the fee in installments. See 28 U.S.C. § 1915(b).
Although only one filing fee needs to be paid per case, if multiple plaintiffs seek to proceed in forma pauperis, each plaintiff must qualify for in forma pauperis status. See Spencer v. Soc. Sec. Admin., No. 2:20-CV-01304-BNW, 2020 WL 5502159, at *1 (D. Nev. Sept. 10, 2020).
As explained above, Bresselsmith's application to proceed in forma pauperis is incomplete. The Court will therefore deny Bresselsmith's application to proceed in forma pauperis without prejudice and grant him an extension of time to file a new fully complete application to proceed in forma pauperis with all three required documents. McNees and White also need to file fully complete applications to proceed in forma pauperis in this case. Alternatively, Bresselsmith, McNees, and White may choose to pay the full $402 filing fee for this case.
II. CONCLUSION
It is therefore ordered that Bresselsmith's application to proceed in forma pauperis (ECF No. 5) is denied without prejudice.
It is further ordered that McNees, Bresselsmith, and White have until September 22, 2023, to either pay the full $402 filing fee or each file new fully complete application to proceed in forma pauperis with all three required documents: (1) a completed application with the inmate's two signatures on page 3, (2) a completed financial certificate that is signed both by the inmate and the prison or jail official, and (3) a copy of the inmate's trust fund account statement for the previous six-month period.
McNees, Bresselsmith, and White are cautioned that this action will be subject to dismissal without prejudice if they fail to timely comply with this order. A dismissal without prejudice allows McNees, Bresselsmith, and White to refile the case with the Court, under a new case number, when they can file complete individual applications to proceed in forma pauperis or pay the required filing fee.
The Clerk of the Court is directed to send Plaintiffs McNees, Bresselsmith, and White the approved form applications to proceed in forma pauperis for an inmate and instructions for the same and retain the amended complaint (ECF No. 3) but not file it at this time.