SERRANO v. KELLEY

Filing 2

OPINION. Signed by Judge Renee Marie Bumb on 9/15/17. (jbk, )

NOT FOR PUBLICATION
IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
FOR THE DISTRICT OF NEW JERSEY
CAMDEN VICINAGE
ALBERT SERRANO, Jr.,
Plaintiff,
v.

NEW JERSEY STATE SUPERIOR
COURT JUDGE JOHN T. KELLEY,
Defendant.

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Civ. Action No. 17-6264 (RMB)

OPINION

BUMB, District Judge:
Plaintiff Albert Serrano, Jr., a prisoner incarcerated in
Northern State Prison, in Newark, New Jersey, filed this civil
rights complaint on August 17, 2017, alleging Judge John T.
Kelley

violated

denying

his

his

14th

petition

for

Amendment

right

post-conviction

to

due

relief

process
in

the

by
New

Jersey State Superior Court, Camden County, Criminal Division.
(Compl.,

ECF

No.

1.)

Plaintiff

seeks

to

proceed

without

prepayment of fees (“in forma pauperis” or “IFP”), pursuant to
28 U.S.C. § 1915(a).

(IFP App., ECF No. 1-1.)

however,

a

did

not

file

properly

completed

IFP

Plaintiff,
application

because he did not submit “a certified copy of the trust fund
account statement . . . for the 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,”

required

by

28

U.S.C.

§

1915(a)(2).
Moreover,

Plaintiff’s

complaint

is

duplicative

of

the

complaint he filed in Civil Action No. 17-5866 (RMB), which this
Court

has

administratively

terminated,

pending

reopening

Plaintiff submits a properly completed IFP application.

if

“ʽAs

part of its general power to administer its docket,’ a district
court may dismiss a duplicative complaint.” Fabics v. City of
New Brunswick, 629 F. App’x 196, 198 (3d Cir. 2015) (quoting
Colorado River Water Conservation Dist. v. United States, 424
U.S. 800, 817 (1976); Walton v. Eaton Corp., 563 F.2d 66, 70 (3d
Cir.1977) (en banc) (prohibiting a plaintiff from “maintain[ing]
two separate actions involving the same subject matter at the
same time in the same court and against the same defendant”).
Therefore, the Court dismisses this action as duplicative of
Civil Action No. 17-5866.
An appropriate Order follows.
s/Renée Marie Bumb
RENÉE MARIE BUMB
United States District Judge
Dated:

September 15, 2017

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