Source: s3://data.kl3m.ai/documents/govinfo/USCOURTS/USCOURTS-caed-2_14-cv-01915/USCOURTS-caed-2_14-cv-01915-0/pdf.json

Nature of Suit Code: 550
Nature of Suit: Prisoner - Civil Rights (U.S. defendant)
Cause of Action: 42:1983 Prisoner Civil Rights

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UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT

FOR THE EASTERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA

ROBERT LAMAR McINNIS, et al.,

Plaintiff,

v.

YOLO COUNTY JAIL, et al.,

Defendants.

No. 2:14-cv-1915 DAD P

ORDER

Two plaintiffs, Robert McInnis and Alfonso Johnson, have together filed a civil rights 

action pursuant to 42 U.S.C. § 1983. Both plaintiffs are incarcerated at the Yolo County Jail. In

their complaint, which both plaintiffs signed, plaintiffs allege that they have each been diagnosed 

with mental illnesses; that neither plaintiff is receiving adequate mental health or medical care; 

that black mold is growing in the air vents and shower walls at the Yolo County Jail; that their 

religious rights have been infringed; and that a correctional officer has harassed and twice 

assaulted plaintiff McInnis. Plaintiffs each seek $100,000 in damages, and declaratory and 

injunctive relief.

It appears that plaintiff McInnis prepared the complaint pending before the court, and that 

most of the allegations involve the alleged violation of his rights, not plaintiff Johnson’s. Due to 

this disparity, and because only plaintiff McInnis filed a request to proceed in forma pauperis, this 

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Case 2:14-cv-01915-AC Document 9 Filed 09/29/14 Page 1 of 3
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action will be severed to permit each plaintiff to pursue his own claims.1 See Fed. R. Civ. P. 21 

(“Parties may be dropped or added by order of the court on . . . its own initiative at any stage of 

the action and on such terms as are just. Any claim against a party may be severed and proceeded 

with separately.”); see also Davis v. Mason County, 927 F.2d 1473, 1479 (9th Cir. 1991) (courts 

have broad discretion regarding severance). 

Accordingly, plaintiff McInnis will proceed in this action, while plaintiff Johnson will 

proceed on the complaint already on file in a new civil rights action to be opened by the Clerk of 

the Court. The new action will be assigned to the same district judge and magistrate judge 

assigned to the instant action.

 The court also notes that plaintiff McInnis’ current in forma pauperis application is 

incomplete. The certificate portion of the request must be completed by plaintiff’s institution of 

incarceration, which must also provide a certified copy of plaintiff’s trust account statement for 

the six-month period immediately preceding the commencement of this action. See 28 U.S.C. § 

1915(a)(2). Plaintiff McInnis will be provided the opportunity to submit a completed in forma 

pauperis application and a certified copy of his trust account statement in support thereof. 

Plaintiff Johnson will be required to submit his own in forma pauperis application in order to 

proceed with his own action that will be opened pursuant to this order.

In accordance with the above, IT IS HEREBY ORDERED that:

1. The claims of plaintiff Alfonso Johnson are severed from the claims of plaintiff Robert 

McInnis.

2. Plaintiff McInnis shall proceed as the sole plaintiff in this case, Case No. 2:14-cv01915 DAD P.

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In this court’s experience, an action brought by more than one plaintiff proceeding pro se 

presents procedural problems that cause delay and confusion. Delay often arises from the 

frequent transfer of inmates to other facilities or institutions, the changes in address that occur 

when inmates are released to parole, and the difficulties faced by inmates who attempt to 

communicate with each other and with unincarcerated individuals. 

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3. The Clerk of the Court is directed to:

a. Open a separate civil action for plaintiff Alfonso Johnson; 

b. Assign the new action to the district judge and magistrate judge to whom the 

instant case is assigned and make appropriate adjustment in the assignment of civil cases to 

compensate for such assignment;

c. File and docket a copy of this order in the file opened for plaintiff Alfonso 

Johnson;

d. Place a copy of the complaint filed August 15, 2014 in the file opened for 

plaintiff Alfonso Johnson; 

e. Strike from the caption of each plaintiff’s complaint the name of the other 

plaintiff; and

f. Send each plaintiff an endorsed copy of the original complaint bearing the 

amended caption and the case number assigned to his own individual action.

4. Each plaintiff’s complaint is dismissed.

5. The Clerk of the Court is directed to send each plaintiff a new form for filing a civil 

rights action under 42 U.S.C. § 1983 and a new Application to Proceed In Forma Pauperis By a 

Prisoner.

6. Each plaintiff is granted thirty days from the filing date of this order to file an

amended complaint and a new application to proceed in forma pauperis, using the forms provided 

by the court with this order. Each plaintiff’s documents must bear the docket number assigned to 

his own individual case, and each complaint must be labeled “Amended Complaint.” Each 

plaintiff must file an original and two copies of his Amended Complaint. 

7. Failure to file an Amended Complaint or a new application to proceed in forma 

pauperis in accordance with this order will result in a recommendation that the plaintiff’s action 

be dismissed without prejudice.

Dated: September 27, 2014

DAD:4

mcin1915.2.2

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