FIGURES v. FEDERAL BUREAU OF PRISONS et al

Filing 2

Order Dismissing Complaint and Directing Further Proceedings - Figures shall have through July 31, 2013, in which to either pay the $ 400.00 filing fee for this action or demonstrate that he lacks the financial ability to do so. The complaint is dismissed. The dismissal of the complaint will not in this instance lead to the dismissal of the action. Instead, Figures shall have through July 31, 2013, in which to file an amended complaint. (See Order.) Copies distributed pursuant to distribution list. Signed by Judge William T. Lawrence on 7/12/2013.(RSF)

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
SOUTHERN DISTRICT OF INDIANA
TERRE HAUTE DIVISION

PHILLIP PAUL FIGURES,

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Plaintiff,
vs.
FEDERAL BUREAU OF PRISONS,
USP FLORENCE COUNTY PRISON,
Defendants.

Case No. 2:13-cv-00247-WTL-MJD

Order Dismissing Complaint and Directing Further Proceedings
Phillip Paul Figures, an inmate at the United States Penitentiary in Terre Haute, Indiana,
filed this civil action against the Federal Bureau of Prisons and the United States Penitentiary in
Florence, Colorado (USP-Florence). Figures alleges that while incarcerated at the USP-Florence
he was traumatized and falsely imprisoned for fifteen days.
I.
Figures shall have through July 31, 2013, in which to either pay the $ 400.00 filing fee
for this action or demonstrate that he lacks the financial ability to do so. If he seeks leave to
proceed in forma pauperis, his request must be accompanied by a copy of the transactions
associated with his institution trust account for the 6-month period preceding the filing of this
action on July 2, 2013.
II.
The complaint is now subject to the screening requirement of 28 U.S.C. § 1915A(b). This
statute directs that the court dismiss a complaint or any claim within a complaint which “(1) is

frivolous, malicious, or fails to state a claim upon which relief may be granted; or (2) seeks
monetary relief from a defendant who is immune from such relief.” Id. Figures complaint is
deficient for the following reasons:
First, the complaint fails to state a claim upon which relief may be granted. The
complaint is purportedly brought pursuant to 42 U.S.C. § 1983, but § 1983 applies to state (not
federal) actors. It is Bivens v. Six Unknown Federal Narcotics Agents, 403 U.S. 388 (1971),
which Aauthorizes the filing of constitutional tort suits against federal officers in much the same
way that 42 U.S.C. ' 1983 authorizes such suits against state officers . . . .@ King v. Federal
Bureau of Prisons, 415 F.3d 634, 636 (7th Cir. 2005). But, the United States, and its agencies,
including the Bureau of Prisons, are not proper defendants in a Bivens action, King v. Federal
Bureau of Prisons, 415 F.3d 634, 636 (7th Cir. 2005). “[A]bsent a waiver, sovereign immunity
shields the Federal Government and its agencies from suit.” FDIC v. Meyer, 510 U.S. 471, 484–
86 (1994). As presented the complaint fails to provide any basis on which the court could
conclude that the United States has waived its sovereign immunity as to the allegations in the
complaint.
Second, Rule 8(a)(3) of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure requires that a pleading
contain a demand for the relief sought. No demand for relief is stated in the complaint.
Third, the complaint is not signed as required by Rule 11 of the Federal Rules of Civil
Procedure.
For all of these reasons, the complaint is dismissed.

III.
The dismissal of the complaint will not in this instance lead to the dismissal of the action.
Instead, Figures shall have through July 31, 2013, in which to file an amended complaint
which corrects the deficiencies noted above.
In filing an amended complaint, the plaintiff shall conform to the following guidelines:
(a) the amended 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 amended complaint shall comply with
the requirement of Rule 10 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
amended complaint must identify what legal injury he claims to have suffered and what persons
(or entities) are responsible for each such legal injury, and (d) the amended complaint shall
contain a clear statement of the relief which is sought.
IT IS SO ORDERED.

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Date: 7/12/13

Distribution:
PHILLIP PAUL FIGURES
19908-047
TERRE HAUTE - USP
TERRE HAUTE U.S. PENITENTIARY
Inmate Mail/Parcels
P.O. BOX 33
TERRE HAUTE, IN 47808
Financial Deputy Clerk

Hon. William T. Lawrence, Judge
United States District Court
Southern District of Indiana