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UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT 

EASTERN DISTRICT OF MICHIGAN 

SOUTHERN DIVISION 

NIKO SHONTA SIMMONS, 

 Case No. 14-13063 

 Plaintiff, HON. TERRENCE G. BERG 

 v. HON. R. STEVEN WHALEN 

BLAINE LAFLER, et. al., 

 Defendants. 

_____________________________________/ 

OPINION AND ORDER OF SUMMARY DISMISSAL 

The Court has before it Plaintiff Niko Shonta Simmons’ pro se civil rights 

Complaint filed pursuant to 42 U.S.C. § 1983. (Dkt. 1.) Plaintiff is an inmate 

currently confined at the Kinross Correctional Facility in Kincheloe, Michigan. (Id.) 

On August 14, 2014, Magistrate Judge R. Steven Whalen signed an order directing 

Plaintiff to provide eight additional copies of his Complaint in order to effect proper 

service upon Defendants. (Dkt. 4.) Magistrate Judge Whalen also signed a second 

order of deficiency requiring Plaintiff to either pay the filing fee or to submit an 

application to proceed without prepayment of fees. (Dkt. 5.) As part of that order, 

Plaintiff was directed to provide a written authorization to withdraw funds from his 

prison trust fund account. (Id.) Plaintiff was given thirty days to respond to the 

orders but did not comply. (Id.) Therefore, the Court will DISMISS Plaintiff’s 

complaint without prejudice. Plaintiff is not prohibited from re-filing this case as 

long as he complies with Magistrate Judge Whalen’s orders. 

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I. DISCUSSION 

 Plaintiff’s complaint is subject to dismissal for two reasons. First, although 

Plaintiff filed an application to proceed in forma pauperis and a certified prison 

trust account statement, Plaintiff failed to provide this Court with a written 

authorization to withdraw funds from his prison trust fund account. Second, 

Plaintiff did not provide eight copies of the complaint for service upon Defendants. 

A. Failure to Provide a Written Authorization to Withdraw Funds 

28 U.S.C. § 1915(a)(2) requires a prisoner who wishes to proceed without 

prepayment of fees and costs in a civil complaint in federal court to file a certified 

copy of the trust fund account statement for that prisoner for the six month period 

immediately preceding the filing of the complaint or notice of appeal, obtained from 

the appropriate official of each prison at which the prisoner is or was confined. See 

also McGore v. Wrigglesworth, 114 F.3d 601, 605 (6th Cir. 1997). Plaintiff filed a 

certified copy of the trust fund account statement, but he did not provide a written 

authorization to withdraw funds from this account, as Judge Whalen directed him 

to do. 

If an inmate who does not pay the full filing fee fails to provide an affidavit of 

indigency or a certified trust account statement, the district court must notify the 

prisoner of the deficiency and the prisoner will then have thirty days from the date 

of the deficiency order to correct the error or to pay the full filing fee. McGore, 114 

F.3d at 605. If the inmate fails to comply with the district court’s directions, “[t]he 

district court must presume that the prisoner is not a pauper and assess the inmate 

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the full amount of fees.” Id. The district court must then order that the case be 

dismissed for want of prosecution. Id. 

 In this case, Plaintiff’s application to proceed without prepayment of fees and 

costs is deficient because he failed to file an authorization to withdraw funds. The 

moment Plaintiff filed his complaint, he became responsible for the filing fee, and he 

waived any objection to the withdrawal of funds from his trust fund account to pay 

court fees and costs. Id. Plaintiff’s application to proceed without prepayment of 

fees or costs is deficient and subject to dismissal because it lacks the requisite 

authorization form. See Lindsey v. Roman, 408 F. App’x. 530, 533 (3rd Cir. 2010). 

B. Failure to Provide Sufficient Copies of the Complaint to Effect Service 

 Plaintiff’s complaint is also subject to dismissal because he failed to provide 

eight copies of the complaint for service upon Defendants. An inmate bringing a 

civil rights complaint must specifically identify each Defendant against whom relief 

is sought, and must give each Defendant notice of the action by serving upon him or 

her a summons and copy of the complaint. Feliciano v. DuBois, 846 F. Supp. 1033, 

1048 (D. Mass. 1994). Where a Plaintiff is proceeding in forma pauperis, the district 

court must bear the responsibility for issuing the Plaintiff’s process to a United 

States Marshal’s Office, who must effect service upon the Defendants once the 

Plaintiff has properly identified the Defendants in the Complaint. Williams v. 

McLemore, 10 F. App’x. 241, 243 (6th Cir. 2001); Byrd v. Stone, 94 F. 3d 217, 219 

(6th Cir. 1996); Fed. R. Civ. P. 4(c)(2); 28 U.S.C. § 1915(d). The Marshal’s Office 

requires copies of the Complaint in order to serve the Defendants and provide them 

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with notice of this case. The Complaint is subject to dismissal for want of 

prosecution, because of Plaintiff’s failure to comply with Magistrate Judge Whalen’s 

order to provide the requested copies needed to effect service upon Defendants. See 

Erby v. Kula, 113 F. App’x. 74, 75-6 (6th Cir. 2004); Davis v. United States, 73 F. 

App’x. 804, 805 (6th Cir. 2003). 

II. CONCLUSION 

For the reasons stated above, IT IS ORDERED that Plaintiff’s Complaint is 

DISMISSED WITHOUT PREJUDICE. A dismissal without prejudice does not 

prevent Plaintiff from re-filing this case, provided that all of the above requirements 

are met. 

Dated: October 15, 2014 s/Terrence G. Berg 

 TERRENCE G. BERG 

 UNITED STATES DISTRICT JUDGE 

Certificate of Service 

I hereby certify that this Order was electronically submitted on October 15, 

2014, using the CM/ECF system; a copy of this Order was also mailed to the Kinross 

Correctional Facility, 16770 South Watertower Drive, Kincheloe, MI 49788, directed 

to Plaintiff’s attention. 

 s/A. Chubb 

Case Manager 

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