Source: s3://data.kl3m.ai/documents/govinfo/USCOURTS/USCOURTS-azd-2_05-cv-02864/USCOURTS-azd-2_05-cv-02864-1/pdf.json

Nature of Suit Code: 555
Nature of Suit: Prisoner - Prison Condition
Cause of Action: 42:1983 Prisoner Civil Rights

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WO RP

IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT

FOR THE DISTRICT OF ARIZONA

Gary Penny,

Plaintiff, 

vs.

Joseph M. Arpaio, 

Defendant. 

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No. CV-05-2864-PHX-SMM (MEA)

ORDER

On September 19, 2005, Plaintiff Gary Penny, formerly confined in the Maricopa County

Tent City Jail in Phoenix, Arizona, filed a pro se civil rights Complaint (Doc. #1) pursuant

to 42 U.S.C. § 1983. Plaintiff did not pay a filing fee, but filed a certified Application to

Proceed In Forma Pauperis and an "Inmate Account Statement" with his Complaint. By

Order filed April 6, 2006 (Doc. #6), Plaintiff's Application to Proceed was granted.

Because Plaintiff filed a "Notice of Change of Address" (Doc. #3) that indicated he had

been released from custody, the Court's Order also gave Plaintiff 30 days to pay the $250.00

filing fee, or show good cause, in writing, why he was unable to pay the filing fee. 

On April 25, 2006, Plaintiff filed an untitled pleading (Doc. #7) in which he noted that he

was currently residing in a rehabilitation center and alleged that he did not have the income

or support to pay the filing fee. For good cause shown, the Court waived the $250.00 filing

fee by Order filed May 24, 2006 (Doc. #8).

Case 2:05-cv-02864-SMM--MEA Document 11 Filed 10/20/06 Page 1 of 4
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Plaintiff's pleading utterly fails to meet the format requirements of Rule 7.1(a) of the Local

Rules of Civil Procedure.

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The Order also dismissed Plaintiff’s Complaint for failure to state a claim because Plaintiff

had not named a proper Defendant. Plaintiff was given 30 days from the filing date of the

Order to file a first amended complaint in compliance with the Court's Order. 

I. Failure to Comply with Court Order and Failure to State a Claim

To date, Plaintiff has not filed a first amended complaint on a court-approved form as

required. However, on June 16, 2006, Plaintiff filed a pleading titled "COUNT IV" (Doc.

#10), in which he claims that his Fourteenth Amendment rights were violated when he went

from being a borderline diabetic when he entered the Tents Jail, to being a Type II diabetic

today.1

 Instead of filing a first amended complaint, Plaintiff appears to be attempting to

simply add a Count IV to the original Complaint that the Court has already dismissed. This

he cannot do. 

In the Court's Order filed May 24, 2006 (Doc. #8), Plaintiff was informed that any

amended complaint that he filed must be retyped or rewritten in its entirety on the current,

court-approved form included with the Order and may not incorporate any part of the original

Complaint by reference. However, Plaintiff has ignored the Court's directive and filed a

pleading that is not on a Court-approved form and is not capable of standing on its own

without reference to the original Complaint. Moreover, Plaintiff has not shown an

affirmative link between the alleged injury in his pleading "COUNT IV" and the conduct of

an individual Defendant. See Rizzo v. Goode, 423 U.S. 362, 371-72, 377 (1976).

Accordingly, Plaintiff has failed to comply with the Court's May 24, 2006 Order and has

failed to state a claim upon which relief may be granted. 

II. Striking of Pleading and Dismissal of Action

In the Court's May 24, 2006 Order, Plaintiff was specifically warned that if he failed to

timely comply with every provision of the Order, the action would be dismissed pursuant to

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Rule 41(b) of the Federal Rule of Civil Procedure. See Ferdik v. Bonzelet, 963 F.2d 1258

(9th Cir. 1992) (district court may dismiss action for failure to comply with any order of the

court). The Court's Order also warned that if Plaintiff failed to file the amended complaint

on a current, court-approved form, the amended complaint would be stricken, and the action

dismissed without further notice to Plaintiff. The Court's Order further warned Plaintiff that

if he failed to file an amended complaint correcting the deficiencies identified in the Order,

the dismissal of this action would count as a “strike” under the “three strikes” provision of

the Prison Litigation Reform Act. See 28 U.S.C. § 1915(g). 

Accordingly, the Clerk of Court will be directed to strike Plaintiff's "COUNT IV" pleading

from the record in this action, the action will be dismissed with prejudice pursuant to Rule

41(b) of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure for failure to comply with the Court's Order

filed May 24, 2006 (Doc. #8) and for failure to state a claim, and the Clerk of Court will be

directed to enter judgment accordingly and make an entry on the docket stating that the

dismissal for failure to state a claim counts as a “strike” under 28 U.S.C. § 1915(g).

IT IS ORDERED: 

(1) The Clerk of Court must strike from the record Plaintiff's pleading titled "COUNT

IV" (Doc. #10).

(2) This action is dismissed with prejudice pursuant to Rule 41(b) of the Federal Rules

of Civil Procedure for failure to comply with the Court's Order filed May 24, 2006 (Doc. #8)

and for failure to state a claim, and the Clerk of Court must enter judgment accordingly. 

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(3) The Clerk of Court must make an entry on the docket stating that the dismissal for

failure to state a claim counts as a “strike” under 28 U.S.C. § 1915(g).

DATED this 19th day of October, 2006.

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