Sledge v. United States Department of Justice et al

Filing 50

ORDER authorizing service of process and collection of filing fee. Plaintiff has incurred a debt to the U.S.A. in the amount of $350.00 and is directed to notify the Clerk in writing of any change of address. The Clerk of Court is directed to vacate 38 Order authorizing service of process and add L Shults as a defendant and terminate Associate Warden Short as a defendant. Signed by Magistrate Judge Shiva V Hodges on 5/21/2012. (ttil, )

IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
FOR THE DISTRICT OF SOUTH CAROLINA
David A. Sledge,
Plaintiff,
vs.
United States Department of Justice;
Federal Bureau of Prisons; Warden
Drew; Associate Warden D. Rankin;
Associate Warden Short; Captain Delre;
and Lt. L. Jones,
Defendants.

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C/A No.: 1:11-3465-JFA-SVH

ORDER

This is a civil action filed by a federal prisoner. Under Local Civil Rule
73.02(B)(2) (D.S.C.), pretrial proceedings in this action have been referred to the
assigned United States Magistrate Judge.

By orders dated January 17, 2012 [Entry #12], February 17, 2012 [Entry #22],
February 24, 2012 [Entry #25], and May 7, 2012 [Entry #45], Plaintiff was given a
specific time frame in which to bring this case into proper form. Plaintiff has complied
with the court’s orders, and this case is now in proper form.
PAYMENT OF THE FILING FEE:
By filing this case, Plaintiff has incurred a debt to the United States of America in
the amount of $350. See 28 U.S.C. § 1914. This debt is not dischargeable in the event
Plaintiff seeks relief under the bankruptcy provisions of the United States Code. See 11
U.S.C. § 523(a)(17). The Prison Litigation Reform Act (PLRA) of 1996 permits a
prisoner to file a civil action without prepayment of fees or security, but requires the
prisoner “to pay the full amount of the filing fee” as funds are available. See 28 U.S.C. §
1915(a) and (b).
The agency having custody of Plaintiff shall collect payments from Plaintiff’s
prisoner trust account in accordance with 28 U.S.C. § 1915(b)(1) and (2), until the full
filing fee is paid. See Torres v, O’Quinn, 612 F.3d 237, 252 (4th Cir. 2010) (“We hold
that 28 U.S.C. § 1915(b)(2) caps the amount of funds that may be withdrawn from an
inmate’s trust account at a maximum of twenty percent regardless of the number of cases
or appeals the inmate has filed.”) (emphasis in original).

TO THE CLERK OF COURT:
The Clerk of Court shall vacate the order authorizing service of process entered on
April 17, 2012 [Entry #38].
In the Plaintiff’s Answer’s to the Court’s Special Interrogatories [Entry #47], the
Plaintiff has indicated he intended to substitute “L. Shults” in place of “Associate Warden
Short.” The Clerk of Court shall edit the docket to terminate “Associate Warden Short”
as a defendant, and add “L. Shults” as a defendant.
The Clerk of Court is directed to issue the summons(es) for the defendants, and
shall forward copies of this order, the summons(es), the complaint [Entry #1], and the
Form(s) USM-285 to the United States Marshal for service of process. A copy of this
order must be provided to the United States Marshal.
TO THE UNITED STATES MARSHAL:
The United States Marshal shall serve the complaint on defendant(s). Additionally,
the Marshal shall serve copies of the pleading(s) upon the United States Attorney for the
District of South Carolina and the Attorney General of the United States under Rule 4(i)
of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure. The United States Marshal’s Service is advised
that it must expend a reasonable investigative effort to locate a defendant once a
defendant is properly identified. See Greene v. Holloway, No. 99-7380, 2000 WL
296314, at *1 (4th Cir. 2000) (citing with approval Graham v. Satkoski, 51 F.3d 710 (7th
Cir. 1995)).
If the information provided by Plaintiff on the Form(s) USM-285 is not sufficient
for the Marshal to effect service of process, after reasonable investigative efforts have
been made to locate a properly identified defendant, the Marshal should so note in the
“Remarks” section at the bottom of the Form USM-285.
TO DEFENDANT(S):
The defendant(s) are directed to file an answer to the complaint or otherwise
plead.
TO PLAINTIFF:
Plaintiff must provide, and is responsible for, information sufficient to identify
defendant(s) on the Form(s) USM-285. The United States Marshal cannot serve an
inadequately identified defendant, and unserved defendants may be dismissed as parties
to this case.

2

Plaintiff’s attention is directed to Rule 4(m) of the Federal Rules of Civil
Procedure, which provides that “[i]f a defendant is not served within 120 days after the
complaint it filed, the court—on motion or on its own after notice to the plaintiff—must
dismiss the action without prejudice against that defendant or order that service be made
within a specified time. But if the plaintiff shows good cause for the failure, the court
must extend the time for service for an appropriate period.”1
Pursuant to Rule 5 of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, any documents filed
subsequent to the initial pleading must be served on parties. Unless otherwise ordered,
service of subsequently filed documents on a defendant represented by an attorney is
made on the attorney. Service on attorneys who have made an appearance in this court is
effected by the Court’s Electronic Case Filing system through a computer generated
notice of electronic filing. However, prior to defendant’s(s’) attorney making an
appearance in this court, Plaintiff must serve defendant(s) with any documents Plaintiff
files subsequent to the initial pleading and file a Certificate of Service that states who was
served, what document was served, and how the document was served.
IT IS SO ORDERED.

May 21, 2012
Columbia, South Carolina

Shiva V. Hodges
United States Magistrate Judge

1

Commencement of a state law claim is determined by Rule 3 of the South Carolina
Rules of Civil Procedure, rather than Rule 4 of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, and
could impact the time allowed for service of process within the applicable statute of
limitations for the state law claim. 

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