Sturgis v. Dzurenda

1 UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT 2 DISTRICT OF NEVADA ROBERT STURGIS, Case No. 2:25-cv-01265-APG-MDC 4 Plaintiff ORDER 5 v. JAMES DZURENDA, et al., 7 Defendants 9 On July 14, 2025, pro se Plaintiff Robert Sturgis, an inmate in the custody of the Nevada Department of Corrections, submitted an incomplete application to proceed in forma pauperis and a document that appears to be a notice of appeal and/or an affidavit to initiate a class action prepared by Matthew Travis Houston. (ECF Nos. 1, 1-1.)

13 Plaintiff’s application to proceed in forma pauperis does not include a financial certificate or Plaintiff’s prison trust fund account statement for the previous six-month period.

15 It is not clear why Plaintiff filed a notice of appeal prepared by someone else, but the document does not constitute a complaint. In order to initiate a civil rights case, Plaintiff must file a complaint.

18 I. DISCUSSION 19 A. Filing Fee 20 The United States District Court for the District of Nevada must collect filing fees from parties initiating civil actions. 28 U.S.C. § 1914(a). As of December 1, 2023, the fee for filing a civil-rights action is $405, which includes the $350 filing fee and the $55 administrative fee. See 28 U.S.C. § 1914(b). “Any person who is unable to prepay the fees in a civil case may apply to the court for leave to proceed in forma pauperis.” Nev. Loc. R. Prac. LSR 1-1. For an inmate to apply for in forma pauperis status, the inmate must submit all three of the following documents to the Court: (1) a completed Application to Proceed in Forma Pauperis for Inmate, which is pages 1–3 of the Court’s approved form, that is properly signed by the inmate twice on page 3; (2) a completed Financial Certificate, which is page 4 of the Court’s approved form, that is properly signed by both the inmate and a prison or jail official; and (3) a copy of the inmate’s prison or jail trust fund account statement for the previous six-month period. See 28 U.S.C. § 1915(a)(1)–(2); Nev. Loc. R. Prac. LSR 1-2. In forma pauperis status does not relieve an inmate of his or her obligation to pay the filing fee, it just means that the inmate can pay the fee in installments. See 28 U.S.C. § 1915(b).

7 B. Complaint Form 8 “A civil action is commenced by filing a complaint with the court.” Fed. R. Civ. P. 3. Under the local rules, a pro se plaintiff must file a civil rights complaint on the form provided by this Court or it must be legible and contain substantially all the information called for by the Court’s form. See Nev. Loc. R. Prac. LSR 2-1. Plaintiff’s civil rights complaint is neither on this Court’s form and does not appear to contain the information called for by this Court’s form. (See ECF No. 1-1). Plaintiff must file a complaint on this Court’s approved form.

15 Because the document that Plaintiff filed references class actions, the Court notes that pro se litigants have no authority to represent anyone other than themselves. See Cato v. United States, 70 F.3d 1103, 1105 n.1 (9th Cir. 1995); C.E. Pope Equity Trust v. United States, 818 F.2d 696, 697 (9th Cir. 1987). As such, Plaintiff cannot bring a class action lawsuit on behalf of other inmates or seek relief for other inmates. Plaintiff can only bring a claim on his own behalf. Thus, any complaint that Plaintiff files must allege facts to support his own claims.

22 II. CONCLUSION 23 It is therefore ordered that Plaintiff has until September 22, 2025, to accomplish the following two items: 25 1) File a complaint using the correct form for federal court.

26 2) Either pay the full $405 filing fee or file a fully complete application to proceed in forma pauperis with all three of the following required documents: 28 (i) a completed application with the inmate’s two signatures on page 3, 1 (ii) a completed financial certificate that is signed both by the inmate and 2 the prison or jail official, and 3 (iii) a copy of the inmate’s trust fund account statement for the previous six- 4 month period.

5 Plaintiff is cautioned that this action will be subject to dismissal without prejudice if Plaintiff fails to timely comply with this order. A dismissal without prejudice allows Plaintiff to refile the case with the Court, under a new case number, when Plaintiff can file a complete application to proceed in forma pauperis or pay the required filing fee.

9 The Clerk of the Court is directed to send Plaintiff: (1) this Court’s approved 42 10) U.S.C. § 1983 complaint form with instructions, and (2) this Court’s approved form 11. application to proceed in forma pauperis for an inmate with instructions.

13 DATED: July 29, 2025 | Jp a 14 Lr < got 15 UNITED 5 MONE JUDGE 16 Sf Jf -3-