Esposito v. Columbia Community Association et al

Filing 9

ORDER by Judge Laurel Beeler denying 7 Motion for Permission for Electronic Case Filing. (lblc1S, COURT STAFF) (Filed on 3/28/2016)

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UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT

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NORTHERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA

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San Francisco Division

United States District Court
Northern District of California

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CARL ESPOSITO,

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Case No.16-cv-01241-LB

Plaintiff,
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v.
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COLUMBIA COMMUNITY
ASSOCIATION, et al.,

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ORDER DENYING PERMISSION FOR
ELECTRONIC CASE FILING BY
AGENT
Re: ECF No. 7

Defendants.

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Joshua Laine seeks permission to use the court’s Electronic Case Filing (“ECF”) system on

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behalf of the plaintiff Carl Esposito, a pro se litigant.1 Mr. Laine says that he is Mr. Esposito’s

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agent, but the court is unclear on the relationship between Mr. Laine and Mr. Esposito. While

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attorneys uniformly have access to the necessary resources to utilize ECF, pro se litigants are

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screened on a case-by-case basis because of their diverse backgrounds and skills.2 Mr. Laine is

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not, to the court’s knowledge, an attorney; even if he were, he is not representing Mr. Esposito on

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the record. A person may not appear pro se on behalf of another person.3
Civil Local Rule 5-1(b) allows a pro se party to move the court to become a registered user of

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Motion ‒ ECF No. 7 at 1. Record citations refer to material in the Electronic Case File (“ECF”);
pinpoint citations are to the ECF-generated page numbers at the tops of documents.
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Greenspan v. Admin. Office of the U.S. Cts., No. 14-cv-02396-JTM, 2014 WL 6847460, at *7
(N.D. Cal Dec. 4, 2014).
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Pridgen v. Andresen, 113 F.3d 391, 393 (2nd Cir. 1997).
ORDER (No. 16-cv-01241-LB)

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the court’s ECF system. Once registered, an ECF user may authorize another to electronically file

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documents using his or her user ID and password. L.R. 5-1(c)(4). Mr. Laine must therefore first

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move the court for access to ECF. He may then grant Mr. Laine access to his ECF account, if he

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so chooses.

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Accordingly, Mr. Laine’s motion for permission to access the ECF system is denied without

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prejudice. Mr. Esposito must follow court procedures for obtaining permission to access ECF as a

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pro se litigant, if he still wishes to do so. Mr. Esposito is also advised that if he authorizes Mr.

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Laine as a user on his ECF account, he retains full responsibility for any document filed by Mr.

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Laine. See L.R. 5-1(c)(4).
IT IS SO ORDERED.

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United States District Court
Northern District of California

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Dated: March 28, 2016
______________________________________
LAUREL BEELER
United States Magistrate Judge

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ORDER (No. 16-cv-01241-LB)

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