Luna v. South Dakota Department of Corrections et al

Filing 5

ORDER. Signed by U.S. District Judge Karen E. Schreier on 12/19/2017. (JLS)

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
DISTRICT OF SOUTH DAKOTA
SOUTHERN DIVISION
GEORGE GUTIERREZ LUNA,

4:17-CV-04145-KES

Plaintiff,
vs.

ORDER

SOUTH DAKOTA DEPARTMENT OF
CORRECTIONS, STATE PENITENTIARY
OFFICIALS, ADMINISTRATIVE STAFF,
Defendants.
Plaintiff, George Gutierrez Luna, is an inmate at the South Dakota State
Penitentiary in Sioux Falls. On October 10, 2017, Luna filed a pro se civil
rights lawsuit under to 42 U.S.C. § 1983. Docket 1. Luna, however, did not file
“a certified copy of the trust fund account statement (or institutional
equivalent) for the prisoner for the 6-month period immediately preceding the
filing of the complaint” as is required. 28 U.S.C. § 1915. On October 11, 2017,
the Clerk of Court sent Luna a Prisoner Trust Account Report and directed him
to complete it. Docket 2. Two months have passed, and Luna has failed to
return a completed Prisoner Trust Account Report. Thus, he has not yet
satisfied, nor attempted to satisfy, 28 U.S.C. § 1915(a)(2).
The court will provide Luna an additional thirty days to file “a certified
copy of the trust fund account statement (or institutional equivalent) for the
prisoner for the 6-month period immediately preceding the filing of the
complaint.” 28 U.S.C. § 1915(a)(2). Failure to comply with this order and

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submit a certified Prisoner Trust Account Report by the deadline set will result
in dismissal without prejudice of this action. See In re Prison Litig. Reform Act,
105 F.3d 1131, 1132 (6th Cir. 1997) (“If an inmate not paying the full filing fee
fails to provide an affidavit of indigency or trust account statement, the district
court shall notify the prisoner of the deficiency and the prisoner shall have
thirty (30) days from the date of the deficiency order to correct the error or pay
the full filing fee. If the prisoner does not comply with the district court’s
directions, the . . . district court must then order the case dismissed for want of
prosecution.”); see also Perry v. Boston Scientific Family, CIV. No. 11-3464
(DWF/LIB), 2012 WL 694713, at *2 (D. Minn. Feb. 9, 2012), report and
recommendation adopted, CIV. No. 11-3464 (DWF/LIB), 2012 WL 694700, at *1
(D. Minn. Mar. 1, 2012) (collecting cases holding dismissal appropriate when
pro se litigant fails to comply with pauper requirements and court orders).
Thus, it is
ORDERED that the Clerk of Court mail this order and a Prisoner Trust
Account Report to Luna.
IT IS FURTHER ORDERED that Luna will complete the Prisoner Trust
Account Report according to that document’s directions and return it by
January 18, 2018, will result in dismissal without prejudice of the complaint.
DATED this 19th day of December, 2017.
BY THE COURT:
/s/ Karen E. Schreier
KAREN E. SCHREIER
UNITED STATES DISTRICT JUDGE
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