Ouellette v. Lane et al, No. 7:2019cv00342 - Document 18 (W.D. Va. 2019)
Court Description: MEMORANDUM OPINION. Signed by Senior Judge Jackson L. Kiser on 6/6/2019. (tvt)
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IY THE UNITED STATESDISTRICT COURT FO R TH E W ESTER N D ISTRIC T O F V IR G IN IA R O A N O K E D IVISIO N cLEnK' s OFFICE U.a Dlsm COURT ATDANVILLEIVA FIL:D JUN C6 2919 Juuw a ouo u cuc- SCOTT M ITCHELL OUELLETTE, W AL., Plaintiffs, v. M ISTY LANE,c AL., Defendants. ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) civilActionxo.7:. 1ncvaa#4 Yc :gpt, wcuus M EM ORANDUM OPINION By: H on.Jacltson L.K iser Senior United StatesD istrictJudge PlaintiffScottMitchellOuellet'te(6tScott''),aVirginiainmateproceedingproK ,filedthis civilrightsaction tmder42 U.S.C.j1983on behalfofMmselfand fotlrnon-incarcerated fnmily mem bers:CynthiaLee,Cheynnne,Denick W .,and Halie Ouellette.Cynthia,Derrick,ànd Halie residein M ichigan,and Cheyanneresidesin A labam a. The complaintallegesthatformonthsin 2018 and 2019,when these fnmily m embers mailed letters and/or photographs to Scotl atthe SouthwesternVirginiaRegionalJail(&SW VRJ''Iin Duffield,Virginia,amailroom offcialthere hasretlm led them ailings to the senderswithoutsufficientexplanation ornotice to Scott. After review ofthesubm issions,Iconcludethatbecause Scottcnnnotprosecutethecaseforanyonebut llimself,hisfnmilymembers'claimsmustbesummarilydismissedwithoutprejudice. ' First,the compl:int does notprovide a11required inform'ation to allow Scott's fnm ily memberstoproceedasjoint ?ïplaintiffswithhim.C&Everyp1eading,writtenm otion, andotherpaper k. - m ustbe signed by atleastone atlorney of record ...orby a party personally ifthe party is Ouellette v. Lane et al Imrepresented.''Fed.R.Civ.P.11(a).Inaddition,'tgtjhepapermuststatethesigner'saddress,eDoc. 18 1 . m ailaddress,and telephone nllm ber.'' Id. W hile each ofthe plaintiffs purportedly signed the . Dockets.Justia.com complaint in this case,l Scott's fnmily m embers did not provide a11 of the other required information. Second,Scottisnotalicensed attorney.Accordingly,he isnotpennitted torepresentany personinfederalcourtotherthanhimself.See28U.S.C.j1654(çtlna11courtsoftheUnitedStates thepartiesm aypleadandconducttheirown casespersonally orby cotmselas,by therulesofsuch courts,respectively,arepermittedtomanageandconductcausestherein.''l;M yersv.LoudonCty. Pub.Sch.,418 F.3d395,401(4th Cir.2005)(finding thatapro K person'srightto litigatefor oneselfdoesnotcreate a similarrightforhim to litigate on behalfofothers). Thus,ifScott's fnmilym emberswishto bepartiestothislaw suit,theym ustplead and conducttheirown personal claimson them ailinterferenceissue. Third,Scotthasapplied to proceed with hisclaim sin thislawsuitwithoutprepaymentof the$350filingfee,plzrsuantto28U.S.C.j1915(b),which allowsaninmateplaintifftopaythat feethrough installm entswithheld from hisinm atetrustaccotmt. Becausethefnm ily m embersare notinmates,theymaynotproceedtmderj1915(b)andmaynotpaytheslingcostsininstallments. Therecord currentlybeforem eindicatesthatpro K inm ateScott unlicensedasanattorney, . isimpermissibly litigating on behalfofhimselfand hisco-plaintifffam ily members.Accbrdingly, 1 conclude thatthe family m embers'claim s in the case mustbe sum marily dismissed without prejudice.Scottmayproceedwithhispersonalclaimsinthiscase,however. Ifoneormoreofthefnmilymemberswishtoptlrsueaj1983claim inthiscaseasScott's co-plaintiff,within 30 daysfrom thedateoftheentryofthisorder,each suchplaintiffmustsubmit 1Al' 1fiveplaintiffs'namesappearattheendofthecomplaintunderthewordt&signature.''(Am. Compl.5(ECF No.5q.) However,a11thenamesappeartobeinScott'shandwriting,andhemailedthe complaintfrom thejail. 2 amotiontojointhecase.zThemotiontojoinmustbesignedunderpenaltyofperjuryandprovide an accountofthatplaintiffspersonal'involvem entin themailingproblem s,includingwhatletlers heorshemailedto Scott,when each wasmailed,andwhatresponseheor'shereceivedfrom jail 'J ofdcials.Ifamotiontojoin isgranted,eachjoinedplaintiffwillrepresenthimselforherself.To do so,each plaintiffmustsign each subsequentpleading ormotion subm itted to the courtasan indication thatthe ' factualatld legalrepresentations abouteach party's claimts) are true and accurate.Eachplaintiffmustalsoprovidethecontactinformationrequiredunderj 1654.Finally, ifanyoneormoreofthefnmilymembersmovetojoin thislawsuit,theco-plaintiffts)mustpay thefullfilingcost,which is$400 (tke$350filingfeeanda$50administrativefeenotapplicable to prisonerplaintiffs proceeding under j1915(b)). In the alternative,a non-incarcerated coplaintiffmay dem onstratethatheorsheistmabletopaytheflingfeeby subm itting an application toproceedwithoutprepayingfeesorcosts,pursuantto28U.S.C.j 1915(a).3 SeeAttachedFonn. An appropriateorderwillissueherewith. 2 The family m em bers also have the option to file a separate lawsuitorlawsuits,so long as each onerepresentshimselforherself.Scot'tcannotlitigate on anyone'sbehalfbuthisown. ' 3 Section 1915(a)provides: Subjecttosubsection(b),anycourtoftheUnitedStatesmayauthorizethecommencement, prosecution ordefenseofany suit,action orproceeding,civllorcrim inal,orappealtherein, withoutprepaymentoffeesorsecurity therefor,by aperson who subm itsan affidavitthat includesa statem entofallassetssuch prisonerpossessesthatthe person is unable to pay such fees or give security therefor. Such affidavit shallstate the nature of the action, defense orappealand affiant'sbeliefthatthe person isentitled to redress. 28U.S.C.j 1915(a). TheClerkisdirected to sendacopy ofthismem orandllm opinion andaccompanyingOrder to theplaintiffs. Exlxlom this (p dn dayorJtme,2019. 1 f SE I R U N ITED STA TES D ISTRICT JU D G E 4 AO240 (Rev.07/10)ApplicationtoProccedinDiskictCourtWithoutPrepayingFcesorCosts(Sho11Fonul U NITED STATES D ISTRICT C OURT forthe Plainti ff/petitioner CivilAction No. M. Defendant/Respondent APPLICATION TO PRO CEED IN DISTRICT COURT W ITH O UT PREPAYING FEES OR COSTS (ShortForm) Iam aplaintifforpetitionerin thiscaseahd declarethatIam unableto pay the costsoftheseproceedingsand thatIam entitledto thereliefrequested. ' Insupportofthisapplication,1answerthefollowingquestionstmderpenaltyofperjury: 1.lfincarcerated.Iafnbeingheldat: ' . lfemplöyed there,orhave an accotmtin theinstitution,Ihave attached to thisdocum entastatem entcertifiedby the appropriateinstitutionalofficershowing a11receipts,expenditures,and balancesduring the lastsix m onthsuforany institutionalaccountin my nam e. 1am also subm itting a similarstatementfrom any otherinstim tion where Iwas incarceratedduringthelastsixmonths. 2.lfnotincarcerated.lf1am employed,myemployer'snameandaddressare: M ygrosspay orwagesare: $ (spech payperiod) ,and mytake-homepayor'wagesare: $ . 3.OtherIncome.ln thepast12 months,1have received income from thefollowing sources(ckeckalltkatappl y), (a)Business,profession,orotherself-employment (b)Rentpayments,interest,ordividends (c)Pension,annuity,orlifeinsurancepayments (d)Disability,uorworker'scompensationpayments (e)Gifts,orinheritances (9 Anyothersources O O D O O O Yes Yes Yes Yes Y es Y es O No O No O No o No D No O No lfyouanswered ''Yes''toanyquestionabove,describebelow oronseparatepageseachsourceofmoneyand statetheamountthatyoureceivedandwhatyou expecttoreceiveinthefuture. A0 240 (Rev.07/10)ApplicationtoProceedinDistrictCourtWi thoutPrepayinyFeesorCosts(ShortFonul 4.Amountofmoney that1havein cash orinacheckingorsavingsaccount' .$ . 5.Anyautomobile,realestate,stock,bond,security,trust,jewelry,artwork,orotherfinancialinsirumentor thingofvalue thatIown,including any item ofvalue held in someone else'snam e (describethepropert yanditsapproximate value): 6.Any housing,transportation,utilities,orloan payments,orotherregularm onthly expenses (describeandprovide theamountofthemonthlyexpensel. . 7.Names(or,ifunder18,initialsonly)ofa11personswhoaredependentonmeforsupport,myrelationship with each person,and how much 1contributeto theirsupport: 8. Any debtsorfinancialobligations(describetkeanlountsowedandtowhom theyarepayablel. . Declaration: Ideclareunderpenaltyofperjtlrythattheaboveinformationistnleandunderbtandthatafalse statem entmay resultin adism issalofm y claims. Ilate: Applicant' ssignature Printed ntzrpe
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