Jones v. Parsons et al

Filing 9

ORDER Denying Plaintiff's 6 Request to Have the Court Make Copies of His 1 Complaint and Dismissing His 1 Complaint Without Prejudice for Want of Prosecution. Signed by District Judge Denise Page Hood. (JOwe)

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
EASTERN DISTRICT OF MICHIGAN
SOUTHERN DIVISION
SAMUEL R. JONES,
Plaintiff,
v.

Case No. 16-14349
Honorable Denise Page Hood

K. PARSONS, et al.,
Defendants.
__________________________/

ORDER DENYING PLAINTIFF’S REQUEST TO HAVE THE COURT
MAKE COPIES OF HIS COMPLAINT AND DISMISSING HIS
COMPLAINT WITHOUT PREJUDICE FOR WANT OF PROSECUTION
I. Introduction
State prisoner Samuel R. Jones (“Plaintiff”) commenced this action by filing
a pro se civil rights complaint and an application to proceed without prepayment of
the filing fee in the United States District Court for the Western District of
Michigan.

On December 14, 2016, a United States Magistrate Judge in the

Western District of Michigan granted Plaintiff’s application to proceed without
prepayment of the filing fee and then transferred the case to this District.
Upon receipt of the file in this District on December 16, 2016, United States
Magistrate Judge R. Steven Whalen ordered Plaintiff to provide the Court with
nine copies of his complaint for service on the nine defendants. Magistrate Judge

Whalen warned Plaintiff that his failure to submit the required copies could result
in the dismissal of his complaint.
On January 3, 2017, the Court received Plaintiff’s written response to
Magistrate Judge Whalen’s deficiency order. Plaintiff states in his letter that he
does not have sufficient funds to make copies of his complaint and mail them to
the Court. He has asked the Court to make the copies for him.
II. Discussion
Under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 4(c)(3), the Court must order a
United States marshal or deputy marshal to serve a complaint if the plaintiff was
authorized to proceed in forma pauperis under 28 U.S.C. § 1915. Nevertheless,
“[t]he plaintiff . . . must furnish the necessary copies to the person who makes
service.” Fed. R. Civ. P. 4(c)(1).
Although Plaintiff was granted leave to proceed in forma pauperis under §
1915, he failed to comply with Magistrate Judge Whalen’s order to submit copies
of his complaint to the Court for service on the defendants. As noted above, he
claims that he lacks the necessary funds to make copies of his complaint. The
Michigan Department of Corrections, however, has a policy directive which
permits the Department to provide indigent prisoners with copies of court
documents. The policy directive reads in relevant part:

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M.

Prisoners shall be provided photocopying services . . . to
obtain copies of documents in their possession, . . . which
are necessary for the prisoner to file with a court or serve
on a party to a lawsuit. Prisoners shall use the Legal
Photocopy Disbursement Authorization form (CSJ-602)
to request photocopying; the forms shall be available to
prisoners in the housing unit and institutional law
libraries. A fee of 10 cents shall be charged for each
page copied.

N.

Prisoners who lack sufficient funds to pay for copies of
documents in their possession, . . . which are necessary
for the prisoner to file with the court or serve on a party
to a lawsuit shall be loaned funds to pay for the copying.
...

O.

A prisoner may be required to present documentation
(e.g., court rule, copy of the pleading) to show that
requested copies are necessary. . . . If a loan is approved,
it shall be considered an institutional debt and collected
as set forth in PD 04.02.105 “Prisoner Funds.”

Michigan Department of Corrections, Policy Directive 05.03.116, page 3 (effective
Oct. 17, 2014).
In light of this policy directive, Plaintiff should have been able to acquire
copies of his complaint and mail them to the Court. Accordingly, the Court
summarily dismisses the complaint without prejudice for want of prosecution and

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for failure to comply with a court order. Link v. Wabash R. Co., 370 U.S. 626,
629-33 (1962); Mulbah v. Detroit Bd. of Educ., 261 F.3d 586, 589 (6th Cir. 2001);
Fed. R. Civ. P. 41(b); LR 41.2 (E.D. Mich. March 2, 1998).

Dated: April 28, 2017

s/Denise Page Hood
Chief, U.S. District Court

I hereby certify that a copy of the foregoing document was served upon counsel of
record on April 28, 2017, by electronic and/or ordinary mail.
s/LaShawn R. Saulsberry
Case Manager

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