Opinion
5:23-CV-00209-MTT-CHW
07-07-2023
MICHAEL ALONZA RUFUS, Plaintiff, v. BALDWIN COUNTY GEORGIA, Defendant.
ORDER
CHARLES H. WEIGLE, UNITED STATES MAGISTRATE JUDGE
Plaintiff Michael Alonza Rufus, an inmate presently incarcerated in the Petersburg Medium Federal Correctional Institution in Petersburg, Virginia, has filed a pro se pleading that has been docketed as a Complaint seeking relief pursuant to 42 U.S.C. § 1983 (ECF No. 1), but he did not pay the filing fee or file a proper or complete motion to proceed without the prepayment of the filing fee. A prisoner proceeding in forma pauperis must submit (1) an affidavit in support of his claim of indigence and (2) “a certified copy of [his] trust fund account statement (or institutional equivalent) . . . for the 6-month period immediately preceding the filing of the complaint.” 28 U.S.C. § 1915(a)(1)-(2). Without a motion and this account statement (or similar certified documentation from the prison), the Court does not have sufficient information to determine whether Plaintiff is entitled to proceed in forma pauperis or to calculate the average monthly deposits or the average monthly balance in Plaintiff's prison trust account as required by 28 U.S.C. § 1915. See id. (requiring the district court to assess an initial partial filing fee when funds are available). Accordingly, Plaintiff is DIRECTED to submit a proper motion to proceed without the prepayment of the filing fee, which should include a certified copy of his trust fund account statement. The Clerk is DIRECTED to provide Plaintiff with the appropriate forms for this purpose, marked with the case number of the above-captioned action.
Plaintiff is also ORDERED to recast his Complaint on the Court's standard form. In doing so, Plaintiff should explain his claims as simply as possible and need not use legal terminology or cite any specific statute or case law to state a claim, although the Court will presume that Plaintiff's claims are brought under 42 U.S.C. § 1983 unless otherwise specified. See Fed.R.Civ.P. 8. To state a claim for relief under § 1983, a plaintiff must allege that (1) an act or omission deprived him of a right, privilege, or immunity secured by the Constitution or a statute of the United States; and (2) the act or omission was committed by a person acting under color of state law. Hale v. Tallapoosa Cnty., 50 F.3d 1579, 1582 (11th Cir. 1995). Plaintiff's recast complaint should therefore contain a caption that clearly identifies, by name, each individual that Plaintiff has a claim against and wishes to include as a defendant in the present lawsuit. Plaintiff is to name only the individuals associated with the claim or related claims that he is pursuing in this action. Plaintiff must then list each defendant again in the body of his complaint and tell the Court exactly how that individual violated his constitutional rights. If, in his recast complaint, Plaintiff fails to link a named defendant to a claim, the claim will be dismissed. Likewise, if Plaintiff makes no allegations in the body of his recast complaint against a named defendant, that defendant will be dismissed. Plaintiff should not include any exhibits or attachments to his recast complaint (i.e witness statements, medical records, etc.).
Plaintiff is cautioned that the opportunity to file a recast complaint is not an invitation for him to include every imaginable claim that he may have against any state official. Plaintiff will not be permitted join claims against multiple defendants in one action unless Plaintiff can establish a logical relationship between the claims in accordance with the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure. Plaintiff is also cautioned to fully and truthfully respond to each question presented on the standard form including but not limited to those questions regarding previous federal lawsuits and whether he has pursued grievances and exhausted his administrative remedies, or he risks dismissal of this case.
The Clerk is DIRECTED to forward a copy of the § 1983 form marked with the case number of the above-captioned action to the Plaintiff that he should use to file his recast complaint. The recast complaint will supersede (take the place of) Plaintiff's original Complaint (ECF No. 1). Plaintiff may include additional pages with the Court's standard form, but the complaint must be no longer than ten (10) pages in its entirety. The Court will not consider any allegations in any other document, or any allegations not contained within those ten pages, to determine whether Plaintiff has stated an actionable claim.
Plaintiff shall have FOURTEEN (14) DAYS from the date shown on this Order to (1) either pay the required filing fee or submit a proper and complete motion for leave to proceed in forma pauperis in this action and (2) file his recast complaint with the Clerk of Court as described above. If Plaintiff does not timely and fully comply with this Order, this action may be dismissed. Plaintiff is further DIRECTED to notify the Court immediately in writing of any change in his mailing address. There shall be no service of process in this case until further order of the Court.
SO ORDERED.