JACKSON v. PROSSER et al

Filing 7

ORDER granting re 2 MOTION for Leave to Proceed in forma pauperis. Plaintiff must return both the Prisoner Trust Fund Account Statement and the Consent to Collection of Fees from Trust Account to the Clerk within thirty days of this Order. If P laintiff wishes to proceed with this case, he MUST, within thirty days of the date of this Order, file a complete amended complaint asserting only related claims for occurrences at one prison facility. Signed by Magistrate Judge Brian K. Epps on 3/7/25. (loh)

IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
FOR THE SOUTHERN DISTRICT OF GEORGIA
DUBLIN DIVISION
NICLOUS ARMOND JACKSON,

)
)
Plaintiff,
)
)
v.
)
)
MR. T. PROSSER, D.W. Security, Johnson )
State Prison and MS. B. THOMAS, D.W.
)
Security, Dodge State Prison,
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)
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)
Defendants.
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CV 325-019

ORDER
_________
Plaintiff, currently incarcerated at Lee State Prison in Leesburg, Georgia, has submitted
to the Court for filing a complaint brought pursuant to 42 U.S.C. § 1983 concerning events
alleged to have occurred at Johnson State Prison and Dodge State Prison.
I.

Motion to Proceed In Forma Pauperis
Plaintiff seeks to proceed in forma pauperis. After reviewing Plaintiff’s application, it

appears that he lacks sufficient resources to prepay the filing fee. Accordingly, the Court
GRANTS Plaintiff leave to proceed in forma pauperis, subject to compliance with the
conditions of this Order. (Doc. no. 2.)
Plaintiff is hereby advised that under the Prison Litigation Reform Act, Pub. L. No.
104-134, 110 Stat. 1321, all prisoners, even those who are allowed to proceed in forma
The Court DIRECTS the CLERK to update the docket in accordance with the above caption,
which is consistent with Plaintiff’s complaint. (Doc. no. 1, pp. 1, 3.)
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pauperis, must pay the filing fee of $350.00 in full. 28 U.S.C. § 1915(b)(1). Plaintiff must
also pay the full appellate court filing fee if a Notice of Appeal is filed. Prisoner litigants
allowed to proceed in forma pauperis must pay an initial partial filing fee of twenty percent
(20%) of the greater of the average monthly deposits to, or the average monthly balance in, the
prisoner’s account for the six-month period immediately preceding the filing of the complaint.
Prison officials are then required to collect the balance of the filing fee by deducting twenty
percent (20%) of the preceding month’s income credited to Plaintiff’s account. 28 U.S.C. §
1915(b)(2). This payment shall be forwarded to the Clerk of Court “each time the amount in
the plaintiff’s account exceeds $10 until the full filing fees are paid.” Id. The entire filing fee
must be paid even if this suit is dismissed at the outset because it is frivolous, malicious, fails
to state a claim, or seeks monetary damages against a defendant who is immune from such
relief.
In addition to requiring payment of the full filing fee, the Act requires prisoners to
exhaust all administrative remedies prior to filing a federal lawsuit which challenges “prison
conditions.” 42 U.S.C. § 1997e; see also 18 U.S.C. § 3626(g)(2). All prisoner civil rights
actions are subject to dismissal if the prisoner has not exhausted the available administrative
remedies with respect to each claim asserted. Moreover, even if the complaint is dismissed
for failure to exhaust, the prisoner will still be responsible for payment of the full filing fee.
The law also provides that a prisoner cannot bring a new civil action or appeal a
judgment in a civil action in forma pauperis if the prisoner has on three or more prior
occasions, while incarcerated, brought a civil action or appeal in federal court that was
dismissed because it was frivolous, malicious, or failed to state a claim upon which relief may
be granted. The only exception to this “three strikes” rule is if the prisoner is in “imminent
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danger of serious physical injury.” 28 U.S.C. § 1915(g).
Because of these requirements in the law, the Court will give Plaintiff an opportunity,
at this time, to voluntarily dismiss the complaint pursuant to Fed. R. Civ. P. 41(a)(1). Such a
voluntary dismissal will not require Plaintiff to pay the filing fee or count as a dismissal which
may later subject him to the three-dismissal rule under section 1915(g). Plaintiff may dismiss
his case at this time by filing a notice of dismissal.
However, should Plaintiff choose to proceed with his case, Plaintiff MUST comply
with the following instructions:
(1)

Plaintiff must furnish the enclosed Prisoner Trust Fund Account Statement

to the trust (financial) officer of each prison where he has been confined for the past six months.
The trust officer will complete and sign the form and return the form and supporting documents
to Plaintiff for submission to the Court. Two copies of the form are enclosed for this purpose.2
(2)

Plaintiff must sign and date the enclosed Consent to Collection of Fees from

Trust Account. By signing this form, Plaintiff gives his consent to the collection of the entire
filing fee from his prison account in installments, in accordance with the provisions of the
Prison Litigation Reform Act.
(3)

Plaintiff must return both the Prisoner Trust Fund Account Statement and

the Consent to Collection of Fees from Trust Account to the Clerk within thirty days of this
Order.

The Court is aware Plaintiff has submitted some financial information in conjunction with his
motion to proceed in forma pauperis. (See doc. no. 2-1.) However, Plaintiff must follow the instructions
set forth in this Order regarding the enclosed Prisoner Trust Fund Account Statement so that the trust officer
can provide the Court with the current information needed to determine the amount of any appropriate
initial filing fee.
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Once Plaintiff has returned the required forms, the Court will review Plaintiff’s
complaint, to be amended as described below, to determine which, if any, claims are viable
and which, if any, Defendants should be served with a copy of the complaint.
II.

Plaintiff Must Submit an Amended Complaint
Plaintiff’s complaint asserts claims related to events alleged to have occurred at

Johnson State Prison and Dodge State Prison. 3 (See doc. no. 1.) Plaintiff contends on January
14, 2024, while incarcerated at Johnson State Prison, Defendant Prosser “had someone [] hit
[Plaintiff] [on] the hand with a lock,” which caused him to bleed. (Id. at 4.) Plaintiff then
alleges claims related to delayed and improper medical care for his wound. (Id.) Next,
Plaintiff complains about his transfer from Johnson State Prison to Jackson State Prison and
states “they was doing [things] that was not S.O.P. they will have [it] on [video].” (Id.) Finally,
Plaintiff alleges claims regarding his housing at Dodge State Prison. (Id.) He explains on or
about August 8, 2024, he placed himself in “the hole” after Defendant Thomas told him he
was going back to B-Row dormitory. (Id.) He then asserts he was “jumped” and taken to the
hospital on or about September 5, 2024. (Id.)
Plaintiff cannot bring all of these claims in one lawsuit. Under Federal Rule of Civil
Procedure 20, to proceed in one case, Plaintiff’s claims (1) must arise out of “the same
transaction or occurrence, or series of transactions or occurrences”; and (2) “there must be
some question of law or fact common to all defendants that will arise in the action.” Smith v.
Trans-Siberian Orchestra, 728 F. Supp. 2d 1315, 1319 (M.D. Fla. 2010) (citing Alexander v.

As described below, although Plaintiff also mentioned Jackson State Prison in his statement of
claim, he responded “Johnson State Prison and Dodge State Prison” to the complaint form question asking
him where he alleges “the incident” about which he is complaining occurred. (Doc. no. 1, p. 4.)
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Fulton Cnty., Ga., 207 F.3d 1303, 1323 (11th Cir. 2000), overruled on other grounds by
Manders v. Lee, 338 F.3d 1304, 1328 n.52 (11th Cir. 2003) (en banc)). Here, Plaintiff’s claims
cannot meet this standard because the incidents allegedly occurred at different prisons and
have no discernable commonality. (See doc. no. 1, p. 4.)
If Plaintiff wishes to proceed with this case, he MUST, within thirty days of the date
of this Order, file a complete amended complaint asserting only related claims for occurrences
at one prison facility. If Plaintiff wants to assert additional claims regarding incidents at other
prisons, he must file separate lawsuits for each and pay a separate filing fee for each lawsuit.
Plaintiff shall use the attached form and include a factually detailed statement of the claims.
The Court DIRECTS the CLERK to attach the standard form complaint used by
incarcerated litigants in the Southern District of Georgia, stamped with this case number, to
Plaintiff’s service copy of this Order. The Statement of Claim must not exceed six handwritten
pages attached to the standard form. See Goodison v. Wash. Mut. Bank, 232 F. App’x 922,
923 (11th Cir. 2007) (per curiam) (affirming the dismissal of a case where the plaintiff failed
to heed the pleading instructions from the court regarding re-drafting the complaint); see also
London v. Ga. Dep’t of Corr., CV 502-107, doc. no. 10 (M.D. Ga. May 10, 2002) (directing
that amended complaint shall not exceed six handwritten pages).
The amended complaint must be printed legibly so that the Court may discern
Plaintiff’s claims, and it will supersede and replace in its entirety the previous pleading filed
by Plaintiff. Hoefling v. City of Miami, 811 F.3d 1271, 1277 (11th Cir. 2016); Lowery v. Ala.
Power Co., 483 F.3d 1184, 1219 (11th Cir. 2007) (“an amended complaint supersedes the
initial complaint and becomes the operative pleading in the case”). It must contain a caption
that clearly identifies, by name, each individual that Plaintiff is suing in the present lawsuit.
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Furthermore, the body of Plaintiff’s amended complaint must contain sequentially numbered
paragraphs containing only one act of misconduct per paragraph. The numbered paragraphs
in his amended complaint should include information such as:

(i) the alleged act of

misconduct; (ii) the date on which such misconduct occurred; (iii) the names of each and every
individual who participated in such misconduct; and (iv) where appropriate, the location where
the alleged misconduct occurred.
While Plaintiff may attach exhibits to his amended complaint, he shall not incorporate
them by reference as a means of providing the factual basis for his amended complaint. For
example, Plaintiff should not simply state, “See attached documents.” Thus, Plaintiff must
name the individuals whom he seeks to include as Defendants herein in both the caption and
the body of his amended complaint; he may not rely on the fact that individuals are named in
the exhibits attached to his amended complaint as a means of including such persons as
defendants to this lawsuit. The Court will not independently examine exhibits that Plaintiff
does not specifically reference (by the exhibit’s page number) in his amended complaint.
Plaintiff is further cautioned that no portion of any prior pleading shall be incorporated
into his amended complaint by reference. Moreover, Plaintiff shall submit only one amended
complaint in accordance with the terms of this Order. Therefore, within thirty days of the
undersigned date, Plaintiff shall state in the single amended complaint filed in accordance with
the terms of this Order all claims that he wishes the Court to consider as a basis for awarding
the relief sought.

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III.

Conclusion
If Plaintiff fails to respond to this Order with the above-described in forma pauperis

papers and amended complaint within thirty days, the Court will presume that Plaintiff desires
to have this case voluntarily dismissed and will dismiss this action, without prejudice.
Plaintiff is also cautioned that while this action is pending, he shall immediately
inform this Court of any change of address. Failure to do so will result in dismissal of
this case, without prejudice.
SO ORDERED this 7th day of March, 2025, at Augusta, Georgia.

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