FLOOD v. EMMERT et al

Filing 5

ORDER to Recast Complaint. Plaintiff is ORDERED to recast his Complaint on the Courts standard form. Plaintiff is thus ORDERED to either pay the Courts $405.00 filing fee in full or submit a proper and comple te 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 num ber of this case. 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 a recast complaint with the Clerk of Court. Ordered by US MAGISTRATE JUDGE CHARLES H WEIGLE on 03/05/2025. (rka)

IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
FOR THE MIDDLE DISTRICT OF GEORGIA
MACON DIVISION
SCOTTY DEAN FLOOD,

:
:
Plaintiff,
:
:
VS.
:
:
OFFICER T EMMERT, et al.,
:
:
Defendants.
:
________________________________ :

Case No. 5:25-cv-29-MTT-CHW

ORDER
Pro se Plaintiff Scotty Dean Flood, a prisoner currently confined in the Houston
County Detention Facility in Perry, Georgia, filed a pleading that was docketed as a
Complaint seeking relief pursuant to 42 U.S.C. § 1983 (ECF No. 1). Plaintiff also filed a
motion for leave to proceed in forma pauperis (“IFP”) (ECF No. 2). Plaintiff’s motion is
incomplete. A prisoner proceeding IFP 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). Plaintiff’s motion does not include a copy of his prison trust
fund account information, certified by the appropriate prison official. The Court therefore
cannot determine whether Plaintiff is entitled to proceed IFP or 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 28 U.S.C. § 1915(b) (requiring the district court to
assess an initial partial filing fee when funds are available). Plaintiff is thus ORDERED

to either pay the Court’s $405.00 filing fee in full or submit a proper and complete 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 this case.
Plaintiff is also ORDERED to recast his Complaint on the Court’s standard form.
The recast complaint must 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 provide enough facts to
plausibly demonstrate that each defendant’s actions or omissions resulted in the violation
of his constitutional rights.
When drafting his statement of claims on the Court’s form, it is recommended that
Plaintiff list numbered responses to the following questions (to the extent possible) along
with the name of each defendant:
(1)

What did this defendant do (or not do) to violate your rights? In other words:
What was the extent of this defendant’s role in the unconstitutional conduct
other than being in a supervisory role? Was the defendant personally
involved in the constitutional violation? If not, did his actions otherwise
cause the unconstitutional action? How do you know?

(2)

When and where did each action occur (to the extent memory allows)?

(3)

How were you injured as a result of this defendant’s actions or decisions? If
you have been physically injured, explain the extent of your injuries and any
medical care requested or provided.

(4)

How and when did this defendant learn of your injuries or otherwise become
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aware of a substantial risk that you could suffer a serious injury?
(5)

What did this defendant do (or not do) in response to this knowledge?

(6)

What relief do you seek from this defendant?

Plaintiff should state his claims as simply as possible referring only to the relevant
allegations against the named defendants in this case; he should not attach supporting
documents to his recast complaint, 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. 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 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. The current Complaint appears to contain a wide variety of allegations, some of
which appear nonsensical, and nearly all of which are unclear. For example, Plaintiff
suggests state officials murdered his son, threatened his remaining family, committed
medical malpractice, interfered with his mail, retaliated against him, used excessive force
against him, unlawfully arrested and maliciously prosecuted him, and stole his identity and
his property, among other things. It is also unclear who Plaintiff intends to sue in this case
because he lists dozens of individuals in the documents attached to his Complaint. See,
e.g., ECF No. 1-1 at 4, 14. Plaintiff will not be permitted to join claims against multiple
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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 recast complaint will supersede (take the place of) the original Complaint
(ECF No. 1). Plaintiff may include additional pages with the Court’s standard form,
but the recast complaint must be no longer than ten (10) pages in its entirety. This
ten-page limitation includes (and is not in addition to) the pre-printed pages of the Court’s
standard form. 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. Accordingly, any fact Plaintiff deems necessary to his
lawsuit should be clearly stated in his recast complaint, even if Plaintiff has previously
alleged it in another filing. Plaintiff is also advised that his original Complaint is very
difficult to read. The Court cannot rule on what it cannot read, and thus Plaintiff should
write carefully and do his best to make sure his recast complaint is legible. The Clerk is
DIRECTED to mail Plaintiff a copy of the § 1983 form, marked with the case number for
this case, that Plaintiff should use to file his recast complaint.
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
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proceed in forma pauperis in this action and (2) file a recast complaint with the Clerk of
Court. 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, this 5th day of March, 2025.
s/ Charles H. Weigle
Charles H. Weigle
United States Magistrate Judge

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