Leon Bright v. City of Tampa ( 2024 )

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT MIDDLE DISTRICT OF FLORIDA TAMPA DIVISION LEON BRIGHT, Plaintiff, v. Case No. 8:20-cv-01131-CEH-UAM CITY OF TAMPA, et al, Defendant. _______________________________________/ ORDER I deny Plaintiff’s requests for free copies of certain documents that he filed, and other documents previously mailed to him by the Clerk’s Office (Docs. 56, 59, 61, 62). Plaintiff is directed to pay the Clerk of Court for any copies he requests. Plaintiff, who is proceeding without a lawyer, filed this action under 42 U.S.C. § 1983 after a January 2018 incident in which he claims he was harassed by a public bus driver, wrongfully detained by the police, and falsely charged with trespassing. Compl. (Doc. 1). The Court afforded Plaintiff the opportunity to amend his Complaint several times (Docs. 15, 29, 36), but ultimately denied Plaintiff’s motion to proceed without pre-paying the filing fee and dismissed Plaintiff’s Fourth Amended Complaint for failure to comply with the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure (Docs. 50, 51). Plaintiff appealed that decision (Doc. 57). While copies of all relevant documents have already been transmitted to the Eleventh Circuit (see Doc. 60), Plaintiff moves for free personal copies of certain documents previously filed with the Court, to assist him in prosecuting his appeal. See Docs. 56 (requesting copy of Fourth Amended Complaint), 59 (requesting copy of Fourth Amended Complaint), 61 (requesting copy of Third and Fourth Amended Complaint), 62 (requesting copy of Motion for Extension (Doc. 47), Order Granting Motion for Extension (Doc. 48), Report and Recommendations (Doc. 50), Order on Report and Recommendations (Doc. 51), Motion for Leave to Amend and to Vacate (Doc. 52)). Although Plaintiff is proceeding without a lawyer, he is not entitled to more free copies of documents filed in this case, beyond those already provided by the Clerk’s office. Jackson v. Fla. Dep’t of Fin. Servs., 479 F. App’x 289, 292- 293 (11th Cir. 2012) (relying on Harless v. United States, 329 F.2d 397, 398-99 (5th Cir. 1964)) (“The statutory right to proceed in forma pauperis does not include the right to obtain copies of court orders, indictments, and transcript of record, without payment therefor, for use in proposed or prospective litigation.”); see also 28 U.S.C. § 1914(b) (prescribing that the Court collect certain fees, including those for copies). It is Plaintiff’s responsibility to keep or make duplicate copies of his filings. The fee associated with reproducing any paper record is $0.50 per page. 28 U.S.C. § 1914 (JUDICIAL CONFERENCE SCHEDULE OF FEES, District Court Miscellaneous Fee Schedule, 4.a.). The Clerk will require the prepayment of fees prior to providing copies of any documents. See 28 U.S.C. § 1914(c). Accordingly, it is ORDERED that Plaintiffs motions for free copies (Does. 56, 59, 61, 62) are DENIED. Plaintiff is directed to pay the Clerk of Court for any copies he requires. ORDERED in Tampa, Florida, April 4, 2024. Mola HIRT ADAMS United States Magistrate Judge