Smith v. NaphCare US, Inc. et al

Filing 6

ORDER - Plaintiff's motion for leave to file an amended complaint (ECF No. 5 ) is granted.Plaintiff has until January 15, 2023, to either pay the full $402 filing fee or file a fully complete IFP Application. The C lerk of the Court is directed to (1) file the first amended complaint (ECF No. 5 -1) and (2) send Plaintiff Latonia Smith the approved form application to proceed in forma pauperis for an inmate and instructions for the same. (Mailed 11/15/2023). Signed by Magistrate Judge Craig S. Denney on 11/15/2023. (Copies have been distributed pursuant to the NEF - DLS)

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UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT

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DISTRICT OF NEVADA

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LATONIA SMITH,

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Plaintiff

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Case No. 3:23-cv-00175-ART-CSD
ORDER

v.
NAPHCARE US, INC. and NAPHCARE,
INC.,
Defendants

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Federal inmate Latonia Smith brings this civil-rights action under 42 U.S.C. § 1983,

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alleging that her constitutional rights were violated when she was detained at Washoe

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County Detention Facility and consistently denied breakfast and lunch meals that met her

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dietary needs for many months. (ECF No. 1-1). Plaintiff moves for leave to file a first

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amended complaint, arguing that she forgot to include key facts in her original complaint.

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(ECF No. 5). The Court grants Plaintiff’s motion for leave to amend. But this action cannot

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proceed because Plaintiff has neither paid the full $402 filing fee nor applied to proceed

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in forma pauperis. So the Court grants Plaintiff an extension of time to correct that

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deficiency.

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I.

MOTION FOR LEAVE TO AMEND

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Plaintiff moves for leave to file an amended complaint, arguing she forgot to allege

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key facts in her original complaint, and attaches the proposed first amended complaint to

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her motion. (ECF Nos. 5, 5-1). Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 15(a)(2) instructs that

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“[t]he court should freely give leave [to amend] when justice so requires.” An amended

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complaint replaces the complaint before it, so the amended complaint must be complete

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in itself. See Hal Roach Studios, Inc. v. Richard Feiner & Co., Inc., 896 F.2d 1542, 1546

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(9th Cir. 1989). This means an amended complaint must contain all claims, defendants,

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and factual allegations that the plaintiff wishes to pursue in the lawsuit.

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Plaintiff’s proposed first amended complaint appears to be complete and contain

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substantially all the information required on the Court’s form civil-rights complaint. See

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Nev. Loc. R. LSR 2-1. The Court therefore grants Plaintiff’s motion to file an amended

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complaint. If Plaintiff timely complies with the remainder of this order, the Court will screen

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Plaintiff’s first amended complaint in the ordinary course.

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II.

FILING FEE OR APPLICATION TO PROCEED IN FORMA PAUPERIS

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This Court must collect filing fees from parties initiating civil actions. 28 U.S.C.

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§ 1914(a). The fee for filing a civil-rights action is $402, which includes the $350 filing fee

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and the $52 administrative fee. See 28 U.S.C. § 1914(b). “Any person who is unable to

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prepay the fees in a civil case may apply to the court for leave to proceed in forma

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pauperis.” Nev. Loc. R. LSR 1-1. For an inmate to apply for in forma pauperis status, the

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inmate must submit all three of the following documents to the Court: (1) a completed

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Application to Proceed in Forma Pauperis for Inmate, which is pages 1–3 of the

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Court’s approved form, that is properly signed by the inmate twice on page 3; (2) a

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completed Financial Certificate, which is page 4 of the Court’s approved form, that is

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properly signed by both the inmate and a prison or jail official; and (3) a copy of the

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inmate’s prison or jail trust fund account statement for the previous six-month

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period. See 28 U.S.C. § 1915(a)(1)–(2); Nev. Loc. R. LSR 1-2. In forma pauperis status

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does not relieve an inmate of his or her obligation to pay the filing fee, it just means that

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the inmate can pay the fee in installments. See 28 U.S.C. § 1915(b).

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III.

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CONCLUSION
It is therefore ordered that Plaintiff’s motion for leave to file an amended complaint

(ECF No. 5) is granted.

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It is further ordered that Plaintiff has until January 15, 2024, to either pay the full

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$402 filing fee or file a fully complete application to proceed in forma pauperis with all

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three required documents: (1) a completed application with the inmate’s two signatures

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on page 3, (2) a completed financial certificate that is signed both by the inmate and the

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prison or jail official, and (3) a copy of the inmate’s trust fund account statement for the

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previous six-month period.

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Plaintiff is cautioned that this action will be subject to dismissal without prejudice if

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she fails to timely comply with this order. A dismissal without prejudice allows Plaintiff to

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refile the case with the Court, under a new case number, when she can file a complete

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application to proceed in forma pauperis or pay the required filing fee.

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The Clerk of the Court is directed to (1) file the first amended complaint (ECF

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No. 5-1) and (2) send Plaintiff Latonia Smith the approved form application to proceed in

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forma pauperis for an inmate and instructions for the same.

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DATED THIS 15th day of November 2023.

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UNITED STATES MAGISTRATE JUDGE

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