Bakambia v. Schnell et al

Filing 207

ORDER granting 193 Motion to receive printed copies of filings from the Clerk's Office. The Clerk of Court is directed to continue sending Plaintiff a printed copy of the electronically filed documents received from him in connection with this litigation. (Written Opinion) Signed by Magistrate Judge Katherine M. Menendez on 4/26/2021. (BJP)

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UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT DISTRICT OF MINNESOTA MARC AMOURI BAKAMBIA, No. 0:20-cv-01434-NEB -KMM Plaintiff, v. ORDER PAUL SCHNELL, et al., Defendants. This matter is before the Court on Plaintiff, Marc Amouri Bakambia’s April 12, 2021 letter. ECF No. 193. In his letter, Mr. Bakambia notes that he was previously receiving copies of ECF documents that he has filed since this litigation began. He notes that this has been helpful to him throughout the litigation because he is able to cite to pages and to confirm that his written submissions are properly filed. However, on April 12th, he received a notice from the Clerk of Court indicating that he would no longer be provided with a copy of his filed documents along with the notice of electronic filing. Mr. Bakambia states that this will cause him hardship because he lacks regular access to the internet, which would make it difficult for him to review the docket online. As a result, he would lose the ability to cite to documents he has previously filed in the case. The Court finds that the Clerk’s new practice of not printing and returning filings in ever pro se case is generally a good one, designed to conserve time and resources. However, Mr. Bakambia has shown that discontinuing the practice of sending him copies of the documents that he has filed in this case would cause him an unnecessary hardship. Doing so would mean that Mr. Bakambia, who has been granted IFP status in this litigation, would incur added expense in making his own copies of every document he sends to the Court. He would also lose the opportunity to cite to ECF-generated page numbers, which is helpful to the Court and, likely, to opposing counsel.1 For these reasons, the Clerk of Court is directed to continue sending Mr. Bakambia a printed copy of the electronically filed documents received from him in connection with this litigation. The Court notes that Mr. Bakambia frequently numbers his own pages and often sets forth his statements in paragraphs or sections identified with numbers or letters. He is, of course, free to cite to his own page numbers or other identifiers. 1 Date: April 26, 2021 s/Katherine Menendez Katherine Menendez United States Magistrate Judge 2

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