The Bank of New York Mellon Trust et al v. Sprouse et al

Filing 6

ORDER.Defendant John Sprouse is directed to file all process, pleadings, and orders served upon him in this case no later than November 5, 2014. The Clerk is directed to mail a copy of this order to Defendant John Sprouse. Signed by Judge Sheri Polster Chappell on 10/17/2014. (LMF)

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
MIDDLE DISTRICT OF FLORIDA
FORT MYERS DIVISION
THE BANK OF NEW YORK MELLON
TRUST,
Plaintiff,
v.

Case No: 2:14-cv-591-FtM-38DNF

JOHN SPROUSE,
Defendant.
/
ORDER1
This matter comes before the Court on review of the docket. Defendant John
Sprouse, pro se, filed a Notice of Removal and Memorandum in Support on October 14,
2014. (See Doc. #1; Doc. #2). Pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 1446(a),
A defendant or defendants desiring to remove any civil action from a State
court shall file in the district court of the United States for the district and
division within which such action is pending a notice of removal signed
pursuant to Rule 11 of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure and containing
a short and plain statement of the grounds for removal, together with a
copy of all process, pleadings, and orders served upon such
defendant or defendants in such action.
(emphasis added). Here, Sprouse has not filed all process, pleadings, and orders served
upon him. For example, Sprouse has not filed the operative complaint on the docket.
Thus, the Court will direct Sprouse to do so by a set deadline.

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hyperlinks are provided only for users’ convenience. Users are cautioned that hyperlinked documents in
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ceases to work or directs the user to some other site does not affect the opinion of the court.

Since Sprouse is proceeding pro se, the Court will now take the opportunity to
inform him of some, but not all, procedural rules with which he must comply with in this
legal proceeding. The Court reminds Sprouse of these obligations because pro se
litigants are subject to the same law and rules as litigants who are represented by counsel,
including the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure (‟Rule(s)”), and the Local Rules of the
United States District Court for the Middle District of Florida (“Local Rule(s)”). 2 Moon v.
Newsome, 863 F.2d 835, 837 (11th Cir. 1989).
All pleadings and other papers tendered to the Court must be typewritten, doublespaced, in at least twelve-point type, on unglazed white 8 ½ x 11 paper, and with 1 ¼
inch margins. See M.D. Fla. Local Rule 1.05(a).
Sprouse shall not correspond with the Court or any Judge in letter form. In keeping
with their sworn duty to maintain complete impartiality in the exercise of their judicial
duties, Judges will only deliver decisions and opinions in response to documents filed
with the Clerk’s Office in accordance with the governing rules of procedure. Any
correspondence sent to judicial officers will not be responded to, will be stricken from the
case file, and will be returned to the sending party.
All documents filed with the Court must be in the form of a pleading or motion. See
Fed. R. Civ. P. 7(a)-(b). Each pleading, motion, notice, or other paper shall be presented
in a separate document. In addition, all documents filed with the Court must include a
caption (the same as set forth in the operative complaint); a brief title that describes the

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All filings with the Court must be made in accordance with the Rules and Local Rules. The Local Rules are
available for review on the Court’s website at www.flmd.uscourts.gov and a copy may be obtained by visiting
the Clerk’s Office. The Rules are available for review in law libraries of the state and federal courthouses.

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nature of the document; the filing party’s name and signature; and a Certificate of Service.
These last two items are explained below.
All pleadings, motions, or other papers filed with the Court by Sprouse must bear
an original signature of Sprouse, or they will be rejected by the Court. Among other things,
the signature serves as the party’s certification that the document is not submitted for any
improper purpose; that the claims or defenses presented in it are warranted by existing
law; and that there exists reasonable factual support for the allegations or assertions
made. See Fed. R. Civ. P. 11(b). Sprouse is advised to review and become familiar with
Rule 11, as the failure to comply with its provisions can result in the imposition of
sanctions, including monetary fines. See generally Fed. R. Civ. P. 11.
All pleadings, motions, or other papers filed with the Court must include a signed
Certificate of Service. The Certificate of Service is confirmation that the filing party has
complied with the requirement of Rule 5 by serving on every other party to the action (or
its attorney) a copy of the particular pleading, motion, or other paper filed with the Court.
At a minimum, a Certificate of Service must state the date upon which a copy of the
particular document was served on the other parties to the action (or their attorneys) and
the means by which such service was made (e.g., U.S. Mail or hand delivery). Fed. R.
Civ. P. 5.
All requests for relief from, or action by, the Court must be in the form of a motion.
See Fed. R. Civ. P. 7(b). If Sprouse seeks any relief from, or action by, the Court, or seeks
the entry of an order of any kind, he must file a proper motion requesting that relief. The
motion must meet the requirements of all applicable rules, including the Rules and the
Local Rules. All motions must be accompanied by a legal memorandum with citation of

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authorities in support of the relief requested. See M.D. Fla. Local Rule 3.01(a). Motions
and memoranda cannot exceed 25 pages without permission from the Court. See id.
Further, Sprouse is advised that prior to filing most motions, Local Rule 3.01(g)
requires that the filing party confer with opposing counsel in a good faith attempt to resolve
the issue. Sprouse must include a certification in the motion that he has complied with
this requirement and shall also notify the Court whether the parties agree on the relief
requested. Local Rule 3.01 sets forth several other important requirements and rules
governing motions filed with the Court. Failure to comply with these requirements or any
other rule may result in the denial of the motion.
Sprouse must abide by and comply with all orders of this Court. Failure to do so
may result in sanctions, including the striking of pleadings.
Local Rule 3.01(b) requires briefs and legal memoranda in opposition to motions
to be filed within 14-days after being served with such motion. Sprouse must timely
respond to the motions filed by other parties in this case, otherwise, the Court may
assume he does not oppose that motion and the relief requested therein. If Sprouse has
missed a filing deadline, Sprouse must file a motion seeking leave of Court to file the
document out of time.
Sprouse is advised that he must comply with many requirements and failure to do
so can have significant consequences. For example, failure to respond to discovery
requests as described in the rules may result in sanctions. See Fed. R. Civ. P. 37.
While the Court has set forth some of the more prominent procedural obligations
and requirements of litigants in this Court, this Order does not purport to set forth all
requirements and should not be relied upon as limiting Sprouse’s duties and obligations.

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Sprouse is directed to the Court’s website at http://www.flmd.uscourts.gov. There is a
section titled Proceeding Without a Lawyer with additional helpful information.
Accordingly, it is now
ORDERED:
1. Defendant John Sprouse is directed to file all process, pleadings, and orders
served upon him in this case no later than November 5, 2014.
2. The Clerk is directed to mail a copy of this order to Defendant John Sprouse.
DONE and ORDERED in Fort Myers, Florida this 17th day of October, 2014.

Copies: All Parties of Record

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