Arenella v. NCCI Gardner, MA.

Filing 5

Judge Douglas P. Woodlock: ORDER entered. If Arenella wishes to pursue this action he must, within forty-two days of the date of this order:1.Pay the $400 filing and administrative fees or file a motion for leave to proceed in forma pauperis with a six-month certified prison account statement; and 2.File a complaint. Failure to comply with this order will result in dismissal of the action without prejudice. (PSSA, 3)

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
DISTRICT OF MASSACHUSETTS
FRANCIS E. ARENELLA,

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Plaintiff,
v.
NCCI GARDNER, MA,
Defendant.

C.A. No. 14-14764-DPW

ORDER
February 12, 2015
For the reasons set forth below, the Court orders the
plaintiff to (1) file a complaint; and (2) pay the $400 filing
and administrative fees or see leave to proceed without
prepayment of the filing fee.
I.

Background

Francis E. Arenella, who is incarcerated at NCCI Gardnder,
has submitted three letters in which he asks that this Court
order the staff of NCCI Gardner to provide all records of the
mail that the institution has received or sent for Arenella.
Arenella believes that incoming mail is being withheld and
outgoing mail is not being delivered.

Although the Clerk has

docketed one of the letters as a complaint, Arenella has not
filed such a pleading.
II.
A.

Discussion

Filing of a Complaint
“A civil action is commenced by filing a complaint with the

court.”

Fed. R. Civ. P. 3.

Arenella’s letters requesting

injunctive relief do not constitute a complaint.

If he wishes to

pursue this action, he must file a complaint.

I cannot consider

a motion for injunctive relief without an underlying claim that
identifies the parties, the basis of the Court’s jurisdiction,
non-conclusory factual allegations from which I may reasonably
infer that the defendants have engaged in misconduct, claims for
relief, and the remedy sought.1

Further, under the Federal Rules

of Civil Procedure, “[t]he title of the complaint must name all
the parties,” and the claims in a pleading must be set forth “in
numbered paragraphs, each limited as far as practicable to a
single set of circumstances.”
B.

Fed. R. Civ. P. 10(a), (b).

Filing Fee
In addition, Arenella must either prepay the $350 filing fee

and the $50 administrative fee or file a request to proceed
without prepayment of the fee (often referred to as a motion for
leave to proceed in forma pauperis).

Where, as here, the

plaintiff is a prisoner, a motion for waiver of prepayment of the
filing fee must be accompanied by “a certified copy of the trust
fund account statement (or institutional equivalent) for the

1

Under Rule 8 of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, a
complaint must include, inter alia, “a short and plain statement
of the claim showing that the pleader is entitled to relief.”
Fed. R. Civ. P. 8(a)(2). At a minimum, the complaint must “give
the defendant fair notice of what the plaintiff’s claim is and
the grounds upon which it rests.” Calvi v. Knox County, 470 F.3d
422, 430 (1st Cir. 2006) (quoting Educadores Puertorriqueños en
Acción v. Hernández, 367 F.3d 61, 66 (1st Cir. 2004)). This
means that the statement of the claim must “at least set forth
minimal facts as to who did what to whom, when, where, and why.”
Id. (quoting Educadores, 367 F.3d at 68). The plaintiff’s
obligation to provide the grounds of his claim “requires more
than labels and conclusions.” Bell Atlantic Corp. v. Twombly,
550 U.S. 544, 555 (2007).
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prisoner for the 6-month period immediately preceding the filing
of the complaint . . . obtained from the appropriate official of
each prison at which the prisoner is or was confined.”

28 U.S.C.

§ 1915(a)(2).
Unlike other civil litigants, prisoner plaintiffs are not
entitled to a complete waiver of the filing fee, notwithstanding
the grant of in forma pauperis status.

Based on the information

contained in the prison account statement, I will direct the
appropriate prison official to withdraw an initial partial
payment from the plaintiff’s account, followed by payments on a
monthly basis until the entire $350.00 filing fee is paid in
See 28 U.S.C. § 1915(b)(1)-(2).2

full.

Even if I dismiss the

action upon a preliminary screening, see 28 U.S.C. §§ 1915(e)(2),
1915A, or Arenella is otherwise unsuccessful in this action, he
remains obligated to pay the $350 filing fee.
III.

Conclusion

Accordingly, if Arenella wishes to pursue this action he
must, within forty-two days of the date of this order:
1.

Pay the $400 filing and administrative fees or file a

motion for leave to proceed in forma pauperis with a six-month
certified prison account statement; and
2.

File a complaint.

Failure to comply with this order will result in dismissal
of the action without prejudice.

The Clerk shall send the

2

The $50.00 administrative fee became effective May 1, 2013;
it does not apply to persons proceeding in forma pauperis. See
Judicial Conference Fee Schedule.
3

plaintiff an Application to Proceed in District Court Without
Prepaying Fees or Costs, which Arenella may complete and file
(with the prison account statement) as a motion for leave to
proceed in forma pauperis.
SO ORDERED.
/s/ Douglas P. Woodlock
DOUGLAS P. WOODLOCK
UNITED STATES DISTRICT JUDGE

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