(PC)Thomas v. Shirley ( 2023 )

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT 9 EASTERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA 10 11 RICKY L. THOMAS, et al., Case No. 1:23-cv-00470-BAM (PC) 12 Plaintiffs, ORDER DENYING MOTION TO FILE CLASS ACTION CIVIL SUIT WITHOUT 13 v. PREJUDICE 14 SHIRLEY, et al., (ECF No. 10) 15 Defendants. 16 17 Plaintiff Ricky L. Thomas (“Plaintiff”) is a state prisoner proceeding pro se and in forma 18 pauperis in this civil rights action pursuant to 42 U.S.C. § 1983. 19 The original action was filed together with seventeen other inmates, and was severed into 20 individual proceedings on April 5, 2023. (ECF No. 8.) Plaintiff was ordered to proceed as the 21 sole Plaintiff in this case and to file a signed complaint or a notice of voluntary dismissal. (Id.) 22 On April 25, 2023, Plaintiff filed a signed first amended complaint, (ECF No. 11), 23 together with a motion to file a class action, (ECF No. 10). In his motion, Plaintiff argues that the 24 initial case was intended to be filed as a class action civil complaint, as is his first amended 25 complaint. (ECF No. 10.) Plaintiff argues that the—now former—plaintiffs in this action have 26 demonstrated fulfillment of the requirements of Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 23(a), and 27 requests that the cases not be severed and the Court allow the filing of a class action. Plaintiff 28 further contends that if the Court severs the plaintiffs, they will be prejudiced because they cannot 1 proceed by way of a class action, they will be prejudiced by the requirement that they exhaust 2 administrative remedies under the PLRA, and will then be a victim of another federal civil rights 3 violation. (Id.) 4 Plaintiff’s request is denied. Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 23(a) provides that a class 5 action may only be brought if (1) the class is so numerous that joinder of all members is 6 impracticable, (2) there are questions of law or fact common to the class; (3) the claims or 7 defenses of the representative parties are typical of the claims or defenses of the class, and (4) the 8 representative parties will fairly and adequately protect the interests of the class. 9 Plaintiff is not an attorney and is proceeding without counsel. It is well-established that a 10 layperson cannot ordinarily represent the interests of a class. See Smith v. Schwarzenegger, 393 11 Fed. Appx. 518, 519 (9th Cir. 2010) (citing McShane v. United States, 366 F.2d 286, 288 (9th Cir. 12 1966)). A non-attorney proceeding pro se may bring his own claims to court, but may not 13 represent others. Johns v. Cty. of San Diego, 114 F.3d 874, 876 (9th Cir. 1997); C.E. Pope Equity 14 Tr. v. United States, 818 F.2d 696, 697 (9th Cir. 1987) (non-attorney has a right to appear pro se 15 on his/her own behalf, but “has no authority to appear as an attorney for others”). Therefore, it is 16 inappropriate for Plaintiff to proceed as class counsel, and the request is denied, without 17 prejudice. 18 Finally, the Court notes that it appears that the motion is signed by an individual other 19 than Plaintiff. (Compare ECF No. 10, p. 3, with ECF No. 11, p. 5.) While the Court has 20 addressed the merits of the motion as a one-time exception, Plaintiff is advised that because he is 21 proceeding pro se (without an attorney), both the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure and this 22 Court’s Local Rules require that all filed pleadings, motions, and papers be signed by the party 23 personally if the party is unrepresented. Fed. R. Civ. P. 11(a); Local Rule 131(b). Therefore, all 24 future filings submitted to the Court must include Plaintiff’s own signature, as well as the date the 25 filing was submitted to prison authorities for mailing. Future filings that do not include 26 Plaintiff’s own signature may be rejected as improperly filed. 27 /// 28 /// 1 Accordingly, IT IS HEREBY ORDERED as follows: 2 1. Plaintiff’s motion to file a class action civil suit, (ECF No. 10), is DENIED, without 3 prejudice; and 4 2. Plaintiff’s first amended complaint will be screened in due course. 5 IT IS SO ORDERED. 6 7 Dated: April 28, 2023 /s/ Barbara A. McAuliffe _ UNITED STATES MAGISTRATE JUDGE 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28