Jordan et al v. Rogers State Prison et al

Filing 5

ORDER DEFERRING ruling on Plaintiff's 2 MOTION and DIRECTS Plaintiff to amend his Complaint and to submit the appropriate form on which to move to proceed in forma pauperis within fourteen (14) days of the date of this Order. The Court DIRE CTS the Clerk of Court to provide Plaintiff with a proper blank prisoner civil rights complaint form. The Court also DIRECTS Plaintiff to complete this form within fourteen (14) days of this Order and to pay special attention to the questions this f orms asks. The Court DIRECTS the Clerk of Court to provide Plaintiff with a blank copy of the application to proceed in forma pauperis form. The Court likewise DIRECTS Plaintiff to re-submit his application using that form within fourteen (14) days of this Order. Signed by Magistrate Judge R. Stan Baker on 3/31/2017. (csr)

IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
FOR THE SOUTHERN DISTRICT OF GEORGIA
STATESBORO DIVISION

CRAIG A. JORDAN,
Plaintiff,

CIVIL ACTION NO.: 6:17-cv-29

v.
ROGERS STATE PRISON; WARDEN
CLAY TATUM; DEPUTY WARDEN FNU
MCFARLANE; JENNIFER CLARK; and
OFFICER SHELIA HOLLAND,
Defendants.
ORDER
Plaintiff, who is incarcerated at Rogers State Prison in Reidsville, Georgia, filed a
Complaint pursuant to 42 U.S.C. § 1983. (Doc. 1.) Along with his Complaint, Plaintiff filed a
Motion to Proceed in Forma Pauperis. (Doc. 2.) For the reasons set forth below, the Court
DEFERS ruling on Plaintiff’s Motion and DIRECTS Plaintiff to amend his Complaint and to
submit the appropriate form on which to move to proceed in forma pauperis within fourteen
(14) days of the date of this Order. 1

1

The Court notes that Plaintiff is attempting to also bring this cause of action on behalf of “Rogers State
Prison Inmates”. (Doc. 1, p. 2.) However, no other inmate has paid a filing fee or filed a Motion to
Proceed in forma pauperis. Moreover, Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals’ precedent prohibits multiple
prisoners from proceeding in forma pauperis in the same civil action. See Hubbard v. Haley, 262 F.3d
1194, 1196-98 (1lth Cir. 2001). Therefore, the Court will address the inmates’ attempts to proceed in one
cause of action at the frivolity review stage, and any other inmates listed in the complaint will not be
included as plaintiffs in this lawsuit. Any inmate other than Plaintiff Jordan desiring to bring suit against
Defendants must initiate a separate action by submitting a signed complaint and either paying the
applicable filing fee or filing a motion to proceed in forma pauperis. See id.; Local R. 4.1.

BACKGROUND
In his Complaint, Plaintiff asserts inmates at Rogers State Prison have been denied access
to a law library, indigent supplies, parole-mandated courses, religious services, a grievance
procedure, and outside recreation time. (Doc. 1, p. 3.) Plaintiff states the chow hall “is not up to
code on cleanliness and food temperature.” (Id.) In addition, Plaintiff maintains inmates have to
work dangerous details with lengthy hours and are locked in rooms with other inmates for
extensive periods of time without a way to notify staff of emergencies. Plaintiff also maintains
inmates are frequently denied dental care, medical care, mental health care, prescriptions, eye
glasses, and meals, and their legal mail is frequently delayed, denied, and read. (Id. at pp. 3–4.)
Plaintiff states “prison officials” allow sexual and racial discrimination to occur in the education
classes. (Id. at p. 4.)
DISCUSSION
Plaintiff seeks to bring this action in forma pauperis. Under 28 U.S.C. § 1915(a)(1), the
Court may authorize the filing of a civil lawsuit without the prepayment of fees if the plaintiff
submits an affidavit that includes a statement of all of his assets and shows an inability to pay the
filing fee and also includes a statement of the nature of the action which shows that he is entitled
to redress. Even if the plaintiff proves indigence, the Court must dismiss the action if it is
frivolous, malicious, or fails to state a claim upon which relief may be granted. 28 U.S.C.
§§ 1915(e)(2)(B)(i)–(ii). Additionally, pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 1915A, the Court must review a
complaint in which a prisoner seeks redress from a governmental entity. Upon such screening,
the Court must dismiss a complaint, or any portion thereof, that is frivolous, malicious, or fails to
state a claim upon which relief may be granted or which seeks monetary relief from a defendant
who is immune from such relief. 28 U.S.C. § 1915A(b).

2

When reviewing a Complaint on an application to proceed in forma pauperis, the Court is
guided by the instructions for pleading contained in the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure. See
Fed. R. Civ. P. 8 (“A pleading that states a claim for relief must contain [among other things] . . .
a short and plain statement of the claim showing that the pleader is entitled to relief.”); Fed. R.
Civ. P. 10 (requiring that claims be set forth in numbered paragraphs, each limited to a single set
of circumstances). Further, a claim is frivolous under Section 1915(e)(2)(B)(i) “if it is ‘without
arguable merit either in law or fact.’” Napier v. Preslicka, 314 F.3d 528, 531 (11th Cir. 2002)
(quoting Bilal v. Driver, 251 F.3d 1346, 1349 (11th Cir. 2001)).
Whether a complaint fails to state a claim under Section 1915(e)(2)(B)(ii) is governed by
the same standard applicable to motions to dismiss under Federal Rule of Civil
Procedure 12(b)(6). Thompson v. Rundle, 393 F. App’x 675, 678 (11th Cir. 2010). Under that
standard, this Court must determine whether the complaint contains “sufficient factual matter,
accepted as true, to ‘state a claim to relief that is plausible on its face.’” Ashcroft v. Iqbal, 556
U.S. 662, 678 (2009) (quoting Bell Atl. Corp. v. Twombly, 550 U.S. 544, 570 (2007)). A
plaintiff must assert “more than labels and conclusions, and a formulaic recitation of the
elements of a cause of action will not” suffice. Twombly, 550 U.S. at 555. Section 1915 also
“accords judges not only the authority to dismiss a claim based on an indisputably meritless legal
theory, but also the unusual power to pierce the veil of the complaint’s factual allegations and
dismiss those claims whose factual contentions are clearly baseless.” Bilal, 251 F.3d at 1349
(quoting Neitzke v. Williams, 490 U.S. 319, 327 (1989)).

In its analysis, the Court must abide by the long-standing principle that the pleadings of
unrepresented parties are held to a less stringent standard than those drafted by attorneys and,
therefore, must be liberally construed. Haines v. Kerner, 404 U.S. 519, 520 (1972); Boxer X v.
Harris, 437 F.3d 1107, 1110 (11th Cir. 2006) (“Pro se pleadings are held to a less stringent
3

standard than pleadings drafted by attorneys.”) (emphasis omitted) (quoting Hughes v. Lott, 350
F.3d 1157, 1160 (11th Cir. 2003)). However, Plaintiff’s unrepresented status will not excuse
mistakes regarding procedural rules. McNeil v. United States, 508 U.S. 106, 113 (1993) (“We
have never suggested that procedural rules in ordinary civil litigation should be interpreted so as
to excuse mistakes by those who proceed without counsel.”).
Plaintiff’s Complaint was not submitted on the form complaint prisoners are to use when
filing a 42 U.S.C. § 1983 cause of action in this Court. The Court DIRECTS the Clerk of Court
to provide Plaintiff with a proper blank prisoner civil rights complaint form. The Court also
DIRECTS Plaintiff to complete this form within fourteen (14) days of this Order and to pay
special attention to the questions this forms asks. In addition, Plaintiff is advised he must set
forth allegations indicating that his constitutional rights have been violated and by whom his
rights have been violated.
Additionally, the allegations Plaintiff sets forth in his Complaint are not related to each
other. A plaintiff may not join claims and various defendants in one action unless the claims
“arise out of the same transaction, occurrence, or series of transactions or occurrences; and any
question of law or fact common to all defendants will arise in the action.” Fed. R. Civ. P. 20(a).
Accordingly, Plaintiff’s Complaint in its current form fails to state a viable claim. However, the
Court will provide Plaintiff the opportunity to amend his Complaint and DEFERS frivolity
review until such an Amended Complaint is filed.
When submitting his Amended Complaint, the Court DIRECTS Plaintiff to:
(1) draft his Amended Complaint on the complaint form provided by the Clerk of Court;
(2) clearly caption it as an amendment to the original complaint and place the civil action
number of this case on the first page of the form;

4

(3) add no more than ten pages to the form;
(4) write legibly and only on one side of each page;
(5) provide the name of each intended defendant;
(6) provide only factual allegations concerning events where the rights of Plaintiff
himself were violated or Plaintiff himself was injured, including the date and location of
each alleged violation;
(7) only assert claims that arose from the same transaction or occurrence or series of
related transactions or occurrences;
(8) clearly identify each defendant responsible for each alleged violation;
(9) omit all legal argument or conclusions;
(10) provide complete information on the administrative relief Plaintiff has pursued,
including whether he has filed any grievance on the claims he asserts in this action, the
outcome of any grievance, and whether Plaintiff filed any appeal regarding any
grievance; and
(11) provide detailed information on all prisoner civil actions Plaintiff has filed.
In addition, while Plaintiff has submitted an Application to Proceed in Forma Pauperis,
he has submitted a form which is not the form the Court wishes for prisoners to use when
seeking to proceed before this Court. To this end, the Court DIRECTS the Clerk of Court to
provide Plaintiff with a blank copy of the application to proceed in forma pauperis form which
asks prisoner-plaintiffs questions about their inmate trust accounts on page 2 of this application.
The Court likewise DIRECTS Plaintiff to re-submit his application using that form within
fourteen (14) days of this Order.

5

CONCLUSION
For the above stated reasons, the Court DEFERS ruling on Plaintiff’s Motion to Proceed
in Forma Pauperis. The Court DIRECTS Plaintiff to amend his Complaint and to submit the
appropriate form on which to move to proceed in forma pauperis within fourteen (14) days of
the date of this Order. Should Plaintiff fail to abide by these directives, the Court will dismiss
this case for failure to prosecute and failure to follow a court order. The Court DIRECTS the
Clerk of Court to forward to Plaintiff a blank copy of the prisoner civil rights form complaint and
a blank copy of the appropriate form for application to proceed in forma pauperis for prisoners.
SO ORDERED, this 31st day of March, 2017.

R. STAN BAKER
UNITED STATES MAGISTRATE JUDGE
SOUTHERN DISTRICT OF GEORGIA

6