(PC) Hammler v. Cota et al

Filing 11

ORDER signed by Magistrate Judge Edmund F. Brennan on 08/19/19 ORDERING that, within 30 days of the date of this order, plaintiff submit either (1) an amended complaint not exceeding 25 pages or (2) a motion to exceed the page limit (which itself may not exceed 15 pages, per the Standing Order) along withthe complete, 35-page complaint.(Plummer, M)

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UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT

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FOR THE EASTERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA

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ALLEN HAMMLER,

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No. 2:19-cv-1423-EFB P

Plaintiff,

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v.

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E. COTA, et al.,

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ORDER

Defendants.

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Plaintiff is a state prisoner proceeding without counsel in an action brought under 42

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U.S.C. § 1983. Plaintiff filed his complaint by providing it to CDCR for e-filing with the court,

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pursuant to the March 1, 2016 Standing Order of the Eastern District of California (“In Re:

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Procedural Rules for Electronic Submission of Prisoner Litigation Filed by Plaintiffs Incarcerated

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at Participating Penal Institutions,” attached hereto). ECF Nos. 1, 2-2. Plaintiff clearly marked

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each page of his complaint, indicating that the total complaint spans 35 pages. But, under the

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Standing Order, complaints submitted thereunder may not exceed 25 pages. If a plaintiff needs

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more than 25 pages, “he or she must submit a motion demonstrating the grounds for the need to

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exceed the page limitation, along with the proposed complaint, to the Court for permission to

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exceed the page limit.” Plaintiff did not submit a motion to exceed the page limit.

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In an apparent effort to follow the Standing Order, CDCR staff e-filed only the first 25
pages of plaintiff’s complaint. The case cannot proceed without the full complaint.
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Accordingly, it is hereby ORDERED that, within 30 days of the date of this order,

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plaintiff submit either (1) an amended complaint not exceeding 25 pages or (2) a motion to

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exceed the page limit (which itself may not exceed 15 pages, per the Standing Order) along with

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the complete, 35-page complaint.

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So ordered.

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DATED: August 19, 2019.

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FILED

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March 1, 2016

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CLERK, U.S. DISTRICT COURT
EASTERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA

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UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT

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EASTERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA

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IN RE: PROCEDURAL RULES FOR
ELECTRONIC SUBMISSION OF
PRISONER LITIGATION FILED BY
PLAINTIFFS INCARCERATED AT
PARTICIPATING PENAL INSTITUTIONS

STANDING ORDER

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This Standing Order for the United States District Court for the Eastern District of

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California, describes a pilot program in which the Court and the California Department of

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Corrections and Rehabilitation (CDCR) whereby initial pleadings submitted by prisoners

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in civil rights cases involving conditions of confinement claims will be electronically filed.

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As part of this pilot program, CDCR agrees to collaborate with the Court to obtain and

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maintain participating penal institutions under the program. Participating penal

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institutions shall be those institutions which CDCR and the Court agree shall participate

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in the program. This pilot program is designed to reduce the cost of processing court

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filings in civil rights cases brought by incarcerated Plaintiffs pursuant to 42 U.S.C.

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§ 1983.

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As part of the pilot program, the following guidelines apply:

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Scope:

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1.

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This Standing Order only applies to cases brought by incarcerated plaintiffs

housed at one of the participating facilities at the time of initial filing, regarding claims
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involving conditions of confinement, such as those brought under 42 U.S.C. § 1983.

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This Standing Order does not apply to claims challenging the fact or duration of a

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prisoner’s confinement, or other matters not herein authorized.

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Further, this Standing Order only applies to initial filings by Plaintiffs,

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defined as the complaint, an application to proceed in forma pauperis without

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prepayment of fees, a motion seeking relief from this Standing Order, and/or a motion for

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emergency relief. At a CDCR participating facility, no initial documents will be accepted

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for filing by the Clerk of the Court unless they comply with this Standing Order, or the

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scanning equipment is inoperable for more than forty-eight (48) hours. After the initial

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filings, all other filings shall be mailed and shall comply with the Local Rules for the

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United States District Court for the Eastern District of California, and any subsequent

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orders issued by this Court.

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Procedures for E-Filing:

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3.

Plaintiffs shall provide their complaint and any application to proceed in

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forma pauperis without prepayment of fees to CDCR in conformity with CDCR’s

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procedures for the electronic filing of initial documents, including any applicable

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procedures for paying for photocopies. Plaintiffs are required to pay for photocopies

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according to the applicable CDCR policies and procedures.

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4.

To facilitate compliance with Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 8(a)(2)

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(requiring that a pleading contain “a short and plain statement of the claim showing that

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the pleader is entitled to relief”) and to reduce costs and delays associated with

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processing complaints, the Court imposes a page-limit on complaints filed by

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incarcerated Plaintiffs. Complaints shall not exceed twenty-five (25) pages in length.

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Any exhibits attached to a complaint shall count toward the twenty-five page limit.

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Plaintiffs are encouraged to use the Court’s sample civil rights form. In the event a

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Plaintiff needs to file a complaint longer than twenty-five (25) pages, he or she must

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submit a motion demonstrating the grounds for the need to exceed the page limitation,

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along with the proposed complaint, to the Court for permission to exceed the page limit.
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Motions to proceed in forma pauperis, motions to increase the page limit, and motions

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for emergency relief shall be no more than fifteen (15) pages in total combined length.

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5.

CDCR staff will scan all initial filings into a preprogrammed digital sender

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which scans and converts the documents to .PDF format. On the front page of each

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separate filing, CDCR staff shall stamp the document indicating that the document has

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been scanned and emailed, along with the date completed. After the documents are

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scanned, the original documents will be returned to the Plaintiff and CDCR shall

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promptly email the documents to the Clerk of Court for filing.

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The Court, through the Clerk of the Court, will retrieve the e-mailed

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documents from CDCR, conduct a readability review, and file them in the Case

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Management Electronic Case Filing system (CM/ECF). The Court will e-mail a

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document confirming receipt of the filed documents, initial case filing instructions and

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any orders or other documents provided at initial filing to the plaintiff at an e-mail address

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established by CDCR. CDCR staff shall deliver these e-mailed documents to the

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incarcerated plaintiff. After this initial filing, all other documents to be filed shall be sent

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and served through the mail in accordance with CDCR procedures regarding legal mail,

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the Local Rules of this Court, and other applicable law.

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Each CDCR facility participating in the pilot program will establish an e-mail

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address at which CDCR staff can retrieve the Court’s emails and other court-issued

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initial filings. CDCR staff will retrieve this information and any attached documents, from

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the Court’s email and print and deliver them to the incarcerated plaintiff. If the

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incarcerated plaintiff refuses delivery of the documents, or is no longer incarcerated at

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an e-filing CDCR participating facility, CDCR staff will notify the Court by e-mail and

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indicate the reason for non-delivery of the documents. Because the original civil

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complaint and other filings will be returned to the incarcerated plaintiff as after being

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scanned and emailed, the Court and CDCR are not required to provide the incarcerated

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plaintiff with any filed stamped copies of the documents filed by the plaintiff.

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The Clerk of Court is authorized to create any additional required forms or

procedures to effectuate this Standing Order.
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Issues regarding access to the e-filing program shall be referred to a

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designated magistrate judge for determination and authorization to open a

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miscellaneous proceeding prior to accepting the civil complaint should the magistrate

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judge, in his or her discretion, deem it necessary. For filings in the Sacramento Division,

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Magistrate Judge Carolyn K. Delaney shall be the designated magistrate judge. For

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filings in the Fresno Division, Magistrate Judge Stanley A. Boone shall be the designated

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magistrate judge.

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10.

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The effective date of this Standing Order is March 1, 2016.

Dated: February 24, 2016

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