HUGHES v OBAMA et al

Filing 3

Entry and Notice - Plaintiff's 1 Motion for Temporary Restraining Order is DENIED. There has been no complaint (or habeas petition) filed. If a complaint is submitted as directed in part I, Mr. Hughes must contemporaneously either pay the $350.00 filing fee or demonstrate that he lacks the financial ability to do so. Signed by Judge Tanya Walton Pratt on 3/16/2012. (JD)

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
SOUTHERN DISTRICT OF INDIANA
MARK S. HUGHES,
v.

Plaintiff,

BARACK OBAMA,
JANE MAGNUS-STINSON, and
ZINK, Sup.,
Defendants.

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No. 1:12-mc-27-TWP-DML

Entry and Notice
I.
There is one and only one means by which to commence a civil action in
federal court. That means is through the filing of a complaint. In re Allied Signal
Corp., 915 F.2d 190, 192 (6th Cir. 1990) ("an action is commenced with the filing of
a complaint rather than a motion"); 1 James Wm. Moore et al., MOORE'S FEDERAL
PRACTICE ' 3.02[1] (3d ed.2000) ("an action is not commenced by . . . filing a motion
with the court . . . ."). A letter is not a complaint, see Baldwin County Welcome
Center v. Brown, 466 U.S. 147 (1984), and thus the motion for temporary
restraining order and the additional material filed by Mr. Hughes does not
constitute a complaint. Accordingly, it presents nothing for the court to act upon
except recognizing that Mr. Hughes, a state prisoner, may believe otherwise.

According to Rule 3 of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, a civil action is
commenced upon the filing of a complaint with the court. If Mr. Hughes wishes to
file a lawsuit, he must file a complaint, and in doing so he shall be guided by the
following: (a) the complaint shall comply with the requirement of Rule 8(a)(2) of the
Federal Rules of Civil Procedure that pleadings contain "a short and plain
statement of the claim showing that the pleader is entitled to relief. . . "; (b) the
complaint shall comply with the requirement of Rule 10(b) that the allegations in a
complaint be made in numbered paragraphs, each of which should recite, as far as
practicable, only a single set of circumstances; (c) the complaint must identify what
legal injury he claims to have suffered and what persons are responsible for each
such legal injury; and (d) the complaint shall contain a clear statement of the relief
which is sought. However, if he challenges either the fact or the duration of his
confinement, he may do so in federal court only through an action seeking a writ of
habeas corpus.
II.
If a complaint is submitted as directed in the preceding paragraph, Mr.
Hughes must contemporaneously either pay the $350.00 filing fee or demonstrate
that he lacks the financial ability to do so.

III.
Because there has been no complaint (or habeas petition) filed, the motion for
temporary restraining order [Dkt. 1] is denied.
IT IS SO ORDERED.

Date:

03/16/2012

Distribution:
Mark S. Hughes
#894549
New Castle Correctional Facility
1000 Van Nuys Road
P.O. Box A
New Castle, IN 47362

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Hon. Tanya Walton Pratt, Judge
United States District Court
Southern District of Indiana