Opinion
3:22-cv-00490-MMD-CSD
11-21-2022
WADEEAH RAMADAN-NWOKEDI, Plaintiff, v. WASHOE COUNTY JAIL, et al., Defendants.
ORDER (ECF NO. 1)
On November 1, 2022, pro se plaintiff Wadeeah Ramadan-Nwokedi, an inmate at the Washoe County Detention Facility (“WCDF”), submitted a civil-rights complaint under 42 U.S.C. § 1983 and filed an incomplete application to proceed in forma pauperis (“IFP”). (ECF Nos. 1-1, 1). Plaintiff did not include an inmate trust fund account statement for the previous six-month period with the IFP application. Even if Plaintiff has not been at WCDF for a full six-month period, Plaintiff must still submit both a financial certificate and an inmate account statement for the dates that Plaintiff has been at WCDF. The Court will therefore deny the IFP application without prejudice and grant Plaintiff an extension of time to either pay the filing fee or file a new fully complete IFP application.
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 Id. at § 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. LSR 1-1. 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).
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 (pages 1-3 of the Court's form) that is properly signed by the inmate twice on page 3;
2. A completed Financial Certificate (page 4 of the Court's 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. LSR 1-2. Plaintiff has not paid the filing fee for this action but has applied to proceed in forma pauperis. However, as explained above, Plaintiff's application to proceed in forma pauperis is incomplete.
II. CONCLUSION
It is therefore ordered that the application to proceed in forma pauperis (ECF No. 1) is denied without prejudice.
It is further ordered that Plaintiff has until January 23, 2023, to either pay the full $402 filing fee 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 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.
Plaintiff is cautioned that this action will be subject to dismissal without prejudice if Plaintiff fails to timely comply with this order. A dismissal without prejudice allows Plaintiff to refile the case with the Court, under a new case number, when Plaintiff can file a complete application to proceed in forma pauperis or pay the required filing fee.
The Clerk of the Court will send Plaintiff a courtesy copy of the original application to proceed in forma pauperis (ECF No. 1) and the approved form application to proceed in forma pauperis for an inmate and instructions for the same. And the Clerk will retain the complaint (ECF No. 1 -1) but not file it at this time.