2 UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT DISTRICT OF NEVADA 3

4 Jason Nathaniel Nix, Case No.: 2:23-cv-00796-CDS-VCF

5 Plaintiff Order Denying Application to Proceed In 6 v. Forma Pauperis and Related Matters

7 Brayan Lopez, et al., [ECF No. 1]

8 Defendants

9

10 On May 22, 2023, pro se plaintiff Jason Nix, an inmate in the custody of the Nevada

11 Department of Corrections, submitted a complaint under

and applied to

12 proceed in forma pauperis. ECF Nos. 1-1, 1. Both documents are deficient. The application to

13 proceed in forma pauperis is incomplete because Nix did not include a financial certificate or an

14 inmate trust fund account statement for the previous six-month period with the application.

15 And the complaint is illegible because the handwriting is too small to read. I deny the

16 application to proceed in forma pauperis without prejudice, and grant Nix an extension of time to

17 either file a new fully complete application with all three required documents or pay the full

18 $402 filing fee for a civil action. I deny the complaint in its entirety without prejudice as

19 illegible, and I grant leave to amend.

20 I. Application to proceed

21 The United States District Court for the District of Nevada must collect filing fees from

22 parties initiating civil actions.

(a). The fee for filing a civil-rights action is $402,

23 which includes the $350 filing fee and the $52 administrative fee. See

(b). “Any

24 person who is unable to prepay the fees in a civil case may apply to the court for leave to proceed

25 in forma pauperis.” LSR 1-1. For an inmate to apply for in forma pauperis status, the inmate must

26 submit all three of the following documents to the court: (1) a completed Application to

27 Proceed for Inmate, which is pages 1–3 of the court’s approved form, that is

28 properly signed by the inmate twice on page 3; (2) a completed Financial Certificate, which is 2 jail official; and (3) a copy of the inmate’s prison or jail trust fund account statement for the

3 previous six-month period. See

(a)(1)–(2); LSR 1-2. In forma pauperis status does

4 not relieve an inmate of his or her obligation to pay the filing fee, it just means that the inmate

5 can pay the fee in installments. See

(b).

6 As explained above, Nix’s application to proceed in forma pauperis is incomplete because

7 he did not include a financial certificate or an inmate trust fund account statement for the

8 previous six-month period with the application. I therefore deny the application without

9 prejudice, and I grant an extension of time for Nix to either pay the full filing fee or file a new

10 fully complete application to proceed in forma pauperis with all three required documents.

11 II. Form of complaint

12 The complaint Nix submitted is not legibly written because the handwriting is too small

13 to be read with an unaided eye. I recognize that Nix must handwrite his documents for the court

14 because he is incarcerated, but his documents must be legibly written. LR IA 10-1 (a)(2). By way

15 of example, text size for typed papers must be 12 size font or larger, and there should be no more

16 than 28 lines per page. I therefore dismiss the complaint in its entirety without prejudice, and I

17 grant leave to amend to file a legible complaint.

18 Nix is advised that an amended complaint replaces the original complaint, so the

19 amended complaint must be complete in itself. See Hal Roach Studios, Inc. v. Richard Feiner & Co., Inc.,

20

(9th Cir. 1989). This means Nix’s amended complaint must contain all

21 claims, defendants, and factual allegations that he wishes to pursue in this lawsuit. Nix should

22 file the amended complaint on this Court’s approved prisoner-civil-rights form, and it must be

23 titled “First Amended Complaint.” Nix must follow the instructions on the form. He need not

24 and should not allege very many facts in the “nature of the case” section of the form. Rather, in

25 each claim, he should allege facts sufficient to show what each defendant did to violate his civil

26 rights.

27

28 2 It is therefore ordered that the application to proceed in forma pauperis [ECF No. 1] is

3 denied without prejudice.

4 It is further ordered that Nix has until September 6, 2023, to either pay the full $402

5 filing fee or file a new fully complete application to proceed in forma pauperis with all three

6 required documents: (1) a completed application with the inmate’s two signatures on page 3,

7 (2) a completed financial certificate that is signed both by the inmate and the prison or jail

8 official, and (3) a copy of the inmate’s trust fund account statement for the previous six-month

9 period.

10 It is further ordered that the complaint [ECF No. 1-1] is dismissed without prejudice in

11 its entirety because it is illegible.

12 It is further ordered that Nix has until August 7, 2023, to file an amended complaint

13 consistent with this order. Nix is advised that the court will screen the amended complaint in a

14 separate screening order and the screening process will take several months.

15 Nix is cautioned that this action will be subject to dismissal without prejudice if he fails

16 to timely comply with this order. A dismissal without prejudice allows the plaintiff to refile the

17 case with the court, under a new case number, when he can file a complete application to

18 proceed in forma pauperis or pay the required filing fee and file a legible complaint.

19 The Clerk of the Court is directed to file the complaint (ECF No. 1-1) and send plaintiff

20 Jason Nathaniel Nix the approved form application to proceed in forma pauperis for an inmate and

21 instructions for the same, the approved form for filing a

complaint and

22 instructions for the same, and a copy of his complaint (ECF No. 1-1).

23 DATED: June 6, 2023

24

25 Cristina D. Silva 26 United States District Judge

27

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