Huot v. Montana State Department of Child and Family Services et al

Filing 7

ORDER directing Clerk not to authorize service and advising plaintiff to notify Clerk in writing of any change of address. Motion granted: 2 MOTION for Leave to Proceed in forma pauperis. Motion Denied: 3 MOTION to Appoint Counsel. Signed by Magistrate Judge Paige J. Gossett on 8/11/2017. (bgoo)

IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
FOR THE DISTRICT OF SOUTH CAROLINA
COLUMBIA DIVISION
Safron Huot,

)
)
Plaintiff,
)
)
v.
)
)
Montana State Department of Child and
)
Family Services; Montana Supreme Court;
)
Deer Lodge County District Court of Montana; )
Judge Ray Dayton; Cal Boyal; Cindy Johnson; )
Deer Lodge Medical Center; M.D. Wayne R. )
Martin; Susanne M. Clague; Ben Krakowka; )
Susan Day, P.H.D.; Dave Fenchak; Mary Jo
)
Fortner; Roger Fortner,
)
)
Defendants.
)
_____________________________________ )

C/A No. 3:17-1843-MGL-PJG

ORDER

This is a civil action filed by a pro se individual. Under Local Civil Rule 73.02(B)(2)(e)
(D.S.C.), pretrial proceedings in this action have been referred to the assigned United States
Magistrate Judge.
PAYMENT OF THE FILING FEE:
Plaintiff submitted an Application to Proceed in District Court Without Prepaying Fees or
Costs (Form AO240), which the court construed as a motion for leave to proceed in forma pauperis.
See 28 U.S.C. § 1915. (ECF No. 2.) A review of the motion reveals that Plaintiff should be relieved
of the obligation to prepay the full filing fee. Therefore, Plaintiff’s motion for leave to proceed in
forma pauperis is granted, subject to the court’s right to require a payment if Plaintiff’s financial
condition changes, and to tax fees and costs against Plaintiff at the conclusion of this case if the court
finds the case to be without merit. See Flint v. Haynes, 651 F.2d 970, 972-74 (4th Cir. 1981).
MOTION FOR APPOINTED COUNSEL:
Plaintiff requests the appointment of counsel in this case. (ECF No. 3.) The court may use
its discretion to request counsel to represent an indigent in a civil action. See 28 U.S.C.
§ 1915(e)(1); Mallard v. United States Dist. Court for S. Dist. of Iowa, 490 U.S. 296 (1989).
However, such discretion “should be allowed only in exceptional cases.” Cook v. Bounds, 518 F.2d
779, 780 (4th Cir. 1975). Whether exceptional circumstances are present depends on the type and
complexity of the case, and the pro se litigant’s ability to prosecute it. Whisenant v. Yuam, 739 F.2d
160 (4th Cir. 1984), abrogated on other grounds by Mallard, 490 U.S. 296.
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Upon review of the motion, the court has determined that there are no exceptional or unusual
circumstances presented at this time. Importantly, Plaintiff provides no explanation for why she
needs counsel appointed in this matter. Accordingly, Plaintiff’s motion for appointed counsel is
denied.
TO THE CLERK OF COURT:
The Clerk of Court is directed not to issue the summonses for service of process at this time.
TO PLAINTIFF:
Plaintiff must place the civil action number listed above (C/A No. 3:17-1843-MGL-PJG) on
any document provided to the court pursuant to this order. Any future filings in this case must be
sent to (901 Richland Street, Columbia, South Carolina 29201) the address below. All
documents requiring Plaintiff’s signature shall be signed with Plaintiff’s full legal name written in
Plaintiff’s own handwriting. Pro se litigants shall not use the “s/typed name” format used in the
Electronic Case Filing System. In all future filings with this court, Plaintiff is directed to use lettersized (8½ inches by 11 inches) paper only, to write or type text on one side of a sheet of paper only
and not to write or type on both sides of any sheet of paper. Plaintiff is further instructed not to write
to the edge of the paper, but to maintain one inch margins on the top, bottom, and sides of each paper
submitted.
Plaintiff is a pro se litigant. Plaintiff’s attention is directed to the following important notice:
You are ordered to always keep the Clerk of Court advised in writing (901 Richland
Street, Columbia, South Carolina 29201) if your address changes for any reason,
so as to assure that orders or other matters that specify deadlines for you to meet will
be received by you. If as a result of your failure to comply with this order, you fail
to meet a deadline set by this court, your case may be dismissed for violating this
order. Therefore, if you have a change of address before this case is ended, you must
comply with this order by immediately advising the Clerk of Court in writing of such
change of address and providing the court with the docket number of all pending
cases you have filed with this court. Your failure to do so will not be excused by the
court.
IT IS SO ORDERED.
August 11, 2017
Columbia, South Carolina

____________________________________
Paige J. Gossett
UNITED STATES MAGISTRATE JUDGE

Plaintiff’s attention is directed to the important WARNING on the following page.

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IMPORTANT INFORMATION ....PLEASE READ CAREFULLY
WARNING TO PRO SE PARTY OR NONPARTY FILERS
ALL DOCUMENTS THAT YOU FILE WITH THE COURT WILL BE AVAILABLE TO
THE PUBLIC ON THE INTERNET THROUGH PACER (PUBLIC ACCESS TO COURT
ELECTRONIC RECORDS) AND THE COURT’S ELECTRONIC CASE FILING SYSTEM.
CERTAIN PERSONAL IDENTIFYING INFORMATION SHOULD NOT BE INCLUDED IN,
OR SHOULD BE REMOVED FROM, ALL DOCUMENTS BEFORE YOU SUBMIT THE
DOCUMENTS TO THE COURT FOR FILING.
Rule 5.2 of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure provides for privacy protection of electronic
or paper filings made with the court. Rule 5.2 applies to ALL documents submitted for filing,
including pleadings, exhibits to pleadings, discovery responses, and any other document submitted
by any party or nonparty for filing. Unless otherwise ordered by the court, a party or nonparty filer
should not put certain types of an individual’s personal identifying information in documents
submitted for filing to any United States District Court. If it is necessary to file a document that
already contains personal identifying information, the personal identifying information should be
“blacked out” or redacted prior to submitting the document to the Clerk of Court for filing. A
person filing any document containing their own personal identifying information waives the
protection of Rule 5.2(a) by filing the information without redaction and not under seal.
1. Personal information protected by Rule 5.2(a):
(a) Social Security and Taxpayer identification numbers. If an individual’s social security
number or a taxpayer identification number must be included in a document, the filer may include
only the last four digits of that number.
(b) Names of Minor Children. If the involvement of a minor child must be mentioned, the filer
may include only the initials of that child.
(c) Dates of Birth. If an individual’s date of birth must be included in a document, the filer may
include only the year of birth.
(d) Financial Account Numbers. If financial account numbers are relevant, the filer may include
only the last four digits of these numbers.
2. Protection of other sensitive personal information – such as driver’s license numbers and alien
registration numbers – may be sought under Rule 5.2(d) (filings made under seal) and (e) (protective
orders).

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