Opinion
C/A No.: 3:12-3103-CMC-SVH
02-07-2013
Keith Seward, Plaintiff, v. Dr. James Riddle; Michael Barker; and Ken Howard, Defendants.
ORDER
This civil action is filed by a pro se litigant, Keith Seward ("Plaintiff"). Under Local Civil Rule 73.02(B)(2) (D.S.C.), pretrial proceedings in this action are referred to the undersigned United States Magistrate Judge. MOTIONS:
Plaintiff paid the full filing fee at the time he filed his complaint. [Entry #1]. Subsequently, Plaintiff filed an Application to Proceed Without Prepayment of Fees and Affidavit (Form AO 240), which could be construed as a Motion for Leave to Proceed in forma pauperis under 28 U.S.C. § 1915. [Entry #7]. Because the full filing fee is paid, the motion to proceed without prepayment of the fee is moot.
Plaintiff also filed a second "amended complaint," which is filed as a motion to amend [Entry 9] because Plaintiff previously filed an amended complaint [Entry #6]. See Fed. R. Civ. P. 15(a) (party may amend pleadings once without court approval). Plaintiff's amended complaint names two additional defendants as parties to the litigation. [Entry #6]. Plaintiff's motion to amend with proposed second amended complaint names the two new defendants, but fails to state any allegations against the defendants, or any discernable claim in the statement on the complaint form. [Entry #9]. Plaintiff's motion to amend his complaint to file a second amended complaint is denied. TO THE CLERK OF COURT:
The Clerk of Court is directed not to issue the summonses or forward this matter to the United States Marshal for service of process at this time. TO PLAINTIFF:
Plaintiff must place the civil action number (C/A No. 3:12-3103-CMC-SVH) listed above on any document provided to the court pursuant to this order. Any future filings in this case must be sent to: 901 Richland Street, Columbia, South Carolina 29201. All documents requiring Plaintiff's signature shall be signed with Plaintiff's full legal name written in Plaintiff's own handwriting. Pro se litigants shall not use the "s/typed name" format used in the Electronic Case Filing System. In all future filings with this court, Plaintiff is directed to use letter-sized (8½ inches by 11 inches) paper only, to write or type text on one side of a sheet of paper only and not to write or type on both sides of any sheet of paper. Plaintiff is further instructed not to write to the edge of the paper, but to maintain one inch margins on the top, bottom, and sides of each paper submitted. Plaintiff is specifically instructed not to use tape or staples on the documents he submits for filing.
Plaintiff is a pro se litigant. Plaintiff's attention is directed to the following important notice:
You are ordered to always keep the Clerk of Court advised in writing (901 Richland Street, Columbia, South Carolina 29201) if your address changes for any reason, so as to assure that orders or other matters that specify deadlines for you to meet will be received by you. If, as a result of your failure to comply with this order, you fail to meet a deadline set by this court, your case may be dismissed for violating this order . Therefore, if you have a change of address before this case is ended, you must comply with this order by immediately advising the Clerk of Court in writing of such change of address and providing the court with the docket number of all pending cases you have filed with this court. Your failure to do so will not be excused by the court.
IT IS SO ORDERED.
Shiva V. Hodges
United States Magistrate Judge
February 7, 2013
Columbia, South Carolina
IMPORTANT INFORMATION—PLEASE READ CAREFULLY
WARNING TO PRO SE PARTY OR NONPARTY FILERS
All documents that you file with the court will be available to the public on the internet through PACER (Public Access to Court Electronic Records) and the court's Electronic Case Filing System. CERTAIN PERSONAL IDENTIFYING INFORMATION SHOULD NOT BE INCLUDED IN OR SHOULD BE REMOVED FROM ALL DOCUMENTS BEFORE YOU SUBMIT THE DOCUMENTS TO THE COURT FOR FILING.
Rule 5.2, Fed. R. Civ. P., provides for privacy protection of electronic or paper filings made with the court. Rule 5.2 applies to ALL documents submitted for filing, including pleadings, exhibits to pleadings, discovery responses, and any other document submitted by any party or nonparty for filing. Unless otherwise ordered by the court, a party or nonparty filer should not put certain types of an individual's personal identifying information in documents submitted for filing to any United States District Court. If it is necessary to file a document that already contains personal identifying information, the personal identifying information should be "blacked out" or redacted prior to submitting the document to the Clerk of Court for filing. A person filing any document containing their own personal identifying information waives the protection of Rule 5.2(a) by filing the information without redaction and not under seal. 1. Personal information protected by Rule 5.2(a):
(a) Social Security and Taxpayer identification numbers. If an individual's social security number or a taxpayer identification number must be included in a document, the filer may include only the last four digits of that number.
(b) Names of Minor Children. If the involvement of a minor child must be mentioned, the filer may include only the initials of that child.
(c) Dates of Birth. If an individual's date of birth must be included in a document, the filer may include only the year of birth.
(d) Financial Account Numbers. If financial account numbers are relevant, the filer may include only the last four digits of these numbers.