Whitsitt v. West Valley Staffing Group et al

Filing 10

AMENDED ORDER DENYING PLAINTIFF'S APPLICATION TO PROCEED IN FORMA PAUPERIS AND CONTINUING CASE MANAGEMENT CONFERENCE; DIRECTIONS TO PLAINTIFF. If plaintiff wishes to proceed with the instant action, plaintiff must, no later than February 24, 2017, (1) pay the filing fee or file a new application to proceed in forma pauperis that clarifies each of the inconsistencies referenced in this order and (2) file a corrected version of his complaint. The Initial Case Management Conference is continued to May 26, 2017. A Joint Case Management Statement shall be filed no later than May 19, 2017. Signed by Judge Maxine M. Chesney on 02/08/17. (mmclc2, COURT STAFF) (Filed on 2/8/2017)

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IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT

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FOR THE NORTHERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA

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WILLIAM J. WHITSITT,
Plaintiff,

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v.

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WEST VALLEY STAFFING GROUP, et
al.,

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United States District Court
Northern District of California

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Defendants.

Case No. 16-cv-07234-MMC
AMENDED 1
ORDER DENYING PLAINTIFF'S
APPLICATION TO PROCEED IN
FORMA PAUPERIS AND CONTINUING
CASE MANAGEMENT CONFERENCE;
DIRECTIONS TO PLAINTIFF
Re: Dkt. No. 3

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Before the Court is plaintiff William J. Whitsitt’s complaint and application to
proceed in forma pauperis.
The filing fee to commence a civil action is $400. A district court, however, may

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authorize a plaintiff to commence a civil action without payment of the filing fee, if the

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plaintiff demonstrates that he is “unable to pay such fee[] or give security therefor.” See

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28 U.S.C. § 1915(a)(1).

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In his application to proceed in forma pauperis, plaintiff states he is not presently

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employed and has not received any money in the past twelve months from a business,

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profession, self-employment, stock, bond, royalty, rent payment, pension, annuity, life

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insurance policy, or any government source. (See Application ¶¶ 1-2.) Plaintiff also

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states that he has no cash, owns no assets, and only has one bank account, at an

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unnamed bank, with a present balance of $10.78. (See id. ¶¶ 5-7.) Plaintiff nevertheless

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states that his monthly expenses total $675 and he lists no outstanding debts (see id.

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The only amendments are to correct the year of the deadline to file a Joint Case
Management Statement and the year in which the order was signed.

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¶¶ 8-9), which statements appear to be inconsistent with his statements that he has no

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income or assets.

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In light of the above-referenced inconsistencies in plaintiff’s application, the
application is hereby DENIED.
If plaintiff wishes to proceed with the instant action, plaintiff must, no later than

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February 24, 2017, pay the filing fee to the Clerk of the Court or file a new application to

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proceed in forma pauperis that clarifies each of the above-referenced inconsistencies. If,

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by February 24, 2017, plaintiff has not paid the filing fee or submitted a sufficient

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application to proceed in forma pauperis, the Court will dismiss plaintiff’s complaint

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United States District Court
Northern District of California

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without prejudice.
Further, the complaint filed December 19, 2016, is, in its present form,

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procedurally deficient in a number of respects. First, the complaint is missing the seventh

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page, on which plaintiff apparently sets forth the basis of one of his claims. Second, the

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complaint is essentially single-spaced, such that the text appears on more than 28 lines

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per page. See Civil L.R. 3-4(c)(2) (providing text of any paper presented for filing “must

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be double-spaced with no more than 28 lines per page, except for . . . footnotes and

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[block] quotations”). Third, portions of the opposition appear to be written in a font that is

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smaller than 12-point type. See id. (providing text of any paper presented for filing,

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including “text of footnotes and quotations” may not be less than “12-point in the Courier

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font or equivalent”). Accordingly, if plaintiff wishes to proceed with the instant action,

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plaintiff is hereby DIRECTED to file, no later than February 24, 2017, a corrected version

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of his complaint.

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Lastly, in light of the above, the Initial Case Management Conference previously

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scheduled for February 17, 2017, is hereby CONTINUED to May 26, 2017. A Joint Case

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Management Statement shall be filed no later than May 19, 2017.

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IT IS SO ORDERED.
Dated: February 8, 2017
MAXINE M. CHESNEY
United States District Judge

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