Sharp v. Garza et al

Filing 16

MEMORANDUM OPINION AND ORDER by District Judge James O. Browning that: (i) Plaintiff Donald Sharps Objection to Memorandum Opinion and Order Striking Civil Complaint, filed October 7, 2021 (Doc. 11), is overruled. (bap)

Case 1:21-cv-00879-JB-KRS Document 16 Filed 11/18/21 Page 1 of 3

IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
FOR THE DISTRICT OF NEW MEXICO
DONALD SHARP,
Plaintiff,
vs.

No. CIV 21-0879 JB/KRS

CARMEN E. GARZA, LAURA FASHING,
MARTHA VAZQUEZ, KEA RIGGS,
STEVEN C. YARBROUGH, GREGORY B.
WORMUTH, JOHN F. RAUBAUR and
ALL FEDERAL JUDGES OF THE UNITED
STATES,
Defendants.
MEMORANDUM OPINION AND ORDER
THIS MATTER comes before the Court on the Plaintiff’s Objection to Memorandum
Opinion Striking Civil Complaint, filed October 7, 2021 (Doc. 11)(“Objection”). For the reasons
stated below, the Court will overrule Plaintiff Donald Sharp’s Objection.
Sharp filed his Civil Complaint on September 7, 2021 (Doc. 1)(“Complaint”). Sharp is
proceeding pro se. Sharp did not sign his Complaint, as rule 11(a) of the Federal Rules of Civil
Procedure requires. See Fed. R. Civ. P. 11(a). On September 9, 2021, the Honorable Kevin R.
Sweazea, United States Magistrate Judge for the United States District Court for the District of
New Mexico, alerted Sharp that, under rule 11(a) D.N.M. LR-Civ. 10.3(b), he must sign his
Complaint. See Notice of Fed. R. Civ. P. 11(a) Omission at 1, filed September 9, 2021 (Doc.
2)(“Notice”). The Notice also warned that, if Sharp does not sign his Complaint within fourteen
days, his Complaint may be stricken without notice. See Notice at 1. Because Sharp did not sign
the Complaint within fourteen days, the Court struck it. See Memorandum Opinion and Order
Striking Civil Complaint and Closing Case, filed September 30, 2021 (Doc. 9)(“MOO”). The

Case 1:21-cv-00879-JB-KRS Document 16 Filed 11/18/21 Page 2 of 3

Court entered final judgment on September 30, 2021. See Final Judgment, filed September 30,
2021 (Doc. 10).
Sharp then objected to the Court’s MOO. See Objection at 1. In the Objection, Sharp
claims that he “mailed a signed copy of this Complaint” to the Court on September 14, 2021. See
Objection at 1. He objects, therefore, to the Court’s MOO striking his Complaint under Fed. R.
Civ. P. 11(a). The Court has never received, however, a signed copy of the Complaint that Sharp
filed in this case. The Court received a separate Complaint from Sharp on September 16, 2021,
that identified similar Defendants. See In re Cibola Cnty Fed. Detainee Litig., No. MC 21-0028
WJ, Civil Complaint, filed September 16, 2021 (Doc. 9)(“Cibola Complaint”). That Cibola
Complaint did not have, however, any case number on it and included two pages of allegations
that were not part of Sharp’s Complaint in this case. Compare Complaint at 3, to Cibola Complaint
at 3-4. The Cibola Complaint, received September 16, 2021, has been filed of record and is
pending in MC 21-0028.
Sharp has filed more than forty cases in the United States District Court for the District of
New Mexico over the past three months. See Sharp v. State of New Mexico, No. CV 21-0700 WJ,
Memorandum Opinion and Order at 2-5, filed October 15, 2021 (Doc. 29)(listing cases). Having
chosen to file in this District, Sharp is obligated to comply with the Federal Rules of Civil
Procedure and the D.N.M. LR-Civ. See Bradenburg v. Beaman, 632 F.2d 120, 122 (10th Cir.
1980). The Court cannot act as Sharp’s advocate, and is not required to guess at what he is
attempting to do or fix the deficiencies in his filings for him. See Hall v. Bellmon, 935 F.2d 1106,
1110 (10th Cir. 1991). The Court never received a signed copy of the Complaint submitted in this
case, and, therefore, needed to strike the Complaint under rule 11(a) and D.N.M. LR-Civ. 10.3(b).
The Court will, therefore, overrule Sharp’s Objection.

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Case 1:21-cv-00879-JB-KRS Document 16 Filed 11/18/21 Page 3 of 3

IT IS ORDERED that: (i) Plaintiff Donald Sharp’s Objection to Memorandum Opinion
and Order Striking Civil Complaint, filed October 7, 2021 (Doc. 11), is overruled; and (ii) the
Clerk of the Court is directed to transmit a copy of this Order to the United States Court of Appeals
for the Tenth Circuit as a supplemental record proper in Tenth Circuit No. 21-2127.

________________________________
UNITED STATES DISTRICT JUDGE
Parties:
Donald Sharp
Milan, New Mexico
Plaintiff Pro se

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