Wilson v. Fox 5 News

1 UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT 2 DISTRICT OF NEVADA 3 * * * LEE WILSON, Case No. 2:25-cv-00147-JAD-EJY 5 Plaintiff, ORDER 6 v. FOX 5 NEWS, et al., 8 Defendants.

10 On January 23, 2025, Plaintiff submitted a Civil Rights Complaint under 42 U.S.C. § 1983.

11 ECF No. 1-1. Plaintiff neither paid the $405 filing fee nor submitted an application to proceed in forma pauperis, one of which is necessary to commence a civil action. If Plaintiff wants to proceed without prepaying the filing fee, he may do so under 28 U.S.C. § 1915(a) and Local Rule LSR 1-2.

14 To apply for in forma pauperis status, Plaintiff must submit three required documents to the Court including: (1) a completed Application to Proceed in Forma Pauperis for Inmate, on this Court’s approved form (i.e. pages 1 through 3 with the inmate’s two signatures on page 3), (2) a Financial Certificate properly signed by both the inmate and a prison or jail official (i.e. page 4 of this Court’s approved form), and (3) a copy of the inmate’s prison or jail trust fund account statement for the previous six-month period.

20 The Court also declines to consider the Complaint because it is not signed by Plaintiff. Under Rule 11 of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, a plaintiff who is not represented by counsel is required to sign every pleading, including a complaint. Fed. R. Civ. P. 11(a). If Plaintiff chooses to file an amended complaint, he is advised that the amended complaint replaces the original complaint, thus the amended complaint must be complete in itself. See Hal Roach Studios, Inc. v. Richard Feiner & Co., Inc., 896 F.2d 1542, 1546 (9th Cir. 1989) (holding that “[t]he fact that a party was named in the original complaint is irrelevant; an amended pleading supersedes the original”).

27 Plaintiff’s amended complaint must contain all claims, defendants, and factual allegations that Plaintiff wishes to pursue in this lawsuit. Moreover, Plaintiff must file the amended complaint on this Court’s approved prisoner civil rights form, and it must be titled “Amended Complaint.”

3 Accordingly, IT IS HEREBY ORDERED that the Court will not consider Plaintiff’s unsigned Complaint (ECF No. 1-1). If Plaintiff choses to file an amended complaint, the document must be titled “Amended Complaint” and must be signed by Plaintiff. The amended complaint must be filed on the Court’s form and contain a short and plain statement describing the underlying case showing that Plaintiff is entitled to relief. Fed. R. Civ. P. 8(a)(2).

8 IT IS FURTHER ORDERED that on or before February 28, 2025, Plaintiff must either pay the $405 filing fee for a civil action or file an application to proceed in forma pauperis containing all three of the required documents and a signed amended complaint.

11 IT IS FURTHER ORDERED that the Clerk of the Court must send Plaintiff (1) the application to proceed in forma pauperis for inmates along with the instructions for filing the same, (2) the form for filing a § 1983 complaint along with the instructions for filing the same, and (3) a copy of his initial Complaint (ECF No. 1-1).

15 IT IS FURTHER ORDERED that failure to file a signed amended complaint and either pay the $405 filing fee or file a complete application to proceed in forma pauperis on or before February 28, 2025, will result in a recommendation to dismiss this action without prejudice. A dismissal without prejudice allows Plaintiff to file his case with the Court, under a new case number, when he is able to comply with LSR 2-1 and file a complete application to proceed in forma pauperis or pay the required filing fee.

21 Dated this 27th day of January, 2025.

ELAYNA J. YOUCHAH 24 UNITED STATES MAGISTRATE JUDGE