Stebbins v. Moon et al
Filing
23
ORDER denying 3 MOTION by David Stebbins for CM/ECF Access. Signed by Magistrate Judge Dwane L. Tinsley on 1/27/2025. (cc: counsel of record; any unrepresented party) (kew)
IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
FOR THE SOUTHERN DISTRICT OF WEST VIRGINIA
CHARLESTON DIVISION
DAVID STEBBINS,
Plaintiff,
v.
CIVIL ACTION NO. 2:24-cv-140
JOSHUA MOON and
LOLCOW LLC,
Defendants.
ORDER
This matter is before the Court on the Motion for CM/ECF Access filed by Plaintiff
David Stebbins (“Plaintiff”), who is proceeding without counsel in this matter. (ECF No.
3.) Therein, Plaintiff seeks leave to make filings electronically using the Court’s CM/ECF
system. See id. In support of his request, Plaintiff asserts that making filings via U.S. Mail
from his residence in Arkansas “would cause this case to become tediously slow.” Id. at 1.
Second, Plaintiff argues that the subject-matter of this litigation concerns acts which
occurred over the internet, and “[a]s such, it is only fitting that the case itself be litigated
in cyberspace.” Id. Third and finally, Plaintiff asserts that his extensive experience as a
pro-se litigant, including a number of copyright infringement cases Plaintiff has filed in
the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California since 2021, justifies granting
him CM/ECF access, as “that experience is likely to carry over here.” Id.
This Court’s Pro Se Handbook states that “non-prisoner pro se filers” such as the
Plaintiff “may be permitted to file electronically only when permission of the Court has
been requested, and the Court has granted such request by Order.” Pro Se Handbook for
the United States District Court for the Southern District of West Virginia (Apr. 25, 2011),
at 18 § 5.4 (emphasis added). The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit has
recognized that pro-se parties are not entitled to make electronic filings in the district
court. Enovative Techs., LLC v. Leor, 622 Fed. App’x 212, 215 (4th Cir. 2015). Plaintiff
offers no specific demonstration that an inability to proceed electronically prejudices him.
To the extent Plaintiff claims that it takes longer for him to receive Court orders by United
States mail, “the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure account for such delays by extending
the response deadlines.” Blochowicz v. Wilkie, 1:20-cv-111, 2020 WL 5028224, at *1 (S.D.
Ga. Aug. 25, 2020) (citing Fed. R. Civ. P. 6(d)), aff’d, 853 Fed. App’x 491 (11th Cir. 2021).
Moreover, as Defendants point out in their opposition to Plaintiff’s subject motion,
the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California revoked Plaintiff’s access to
its electronic filing system; further, in an order denying Plaintiff’s motion to set aside the
judgment in that court, the presiding U.S. District Judge in that matter found that
Plaintiff’s arguments therein “are further evidence that he should not have access to the
Court’s filing system as a vexatious litigant.” (ECF No. 7-1 at 4). For this reason, and for
the reasons discussed at length in the undersigned’s Proposed Findings and
Recommendation, entered contemporaneously herewith, the undersigned Plaintiff’s
request must be denied as the Court must protect itself and the orderly administration of
its docket from Plaintiff’s well-documented history of abusive filings. Thus, the
undersigned FINDS under the circumstances that Plaintiff has not shown good cause
justifying a departure from the Court’s pro-se filing policy.
Accordingly, in light of the foregoing, IT IS ORDERED that Plaintiff’s Motion for
CM/ECF Access (ECF No. 3) is DENIED.
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IT IS SO ORDERED.
The Clerk of Court is DIRECTED to transmit a copy of this Order to counsel of
record and to any unrepresented party.
ENTERED: January 27, 2025
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