Farnsworth v. Johnson ( 2019 )

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT EASTERN DISTRICT OF MICHIGAN SOUTHERN DIVISION BRANDON FARNSWORTH and TYRONE WILLIAMS, Plaintiffs, No. 17-10966 v. District Judge Robert H. Cleland Magistrate Judge R. Steven Whalen CAREY JOHNSON, Defendant. / ORDER On September 26, 2019, the Court denied Plaintiff Brandon Farnsworth’s (“Plaintiff’s”) motion for an order requiring the Macomb Correctional Facility, a Michigan Department of Corrections (“MDOC”) institution, to make copies of MDOC Policies, the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, and other documents for use in discovery and in responding to dispositive motions [ECF No. 39]. On October 1, 2019, Plaintiff filed a motion renewing his request for copies. [ECF No. 41]. Plaintiff’s current motion is denied for the reasons stated in September 26, 2019 order. Even when a plaintiff is granted leave to proceed in forma pauperis under 28 U.S.C. § 1915(a), the Court has no authority to finance or order the payment of litigation expenses. See Coates v. Kafczynski, 2006 WL 416244, *2-3 (W.D. Mich. 2006); Edkins v. United States, No. 15-10615, 2015 WL 13036673, *1 (E.D. Mich. 2015). Nor can the Court order a non-party, such as the MDOC, to pay for Plaintiff’s copying costs. Accordingly, Plaintiff’s motion [ECF No. 41] is DENIED. IT IS SO ORDERED. Dated: October 6, 2019 s/R. Steven Whalen R. STEVEN WHALEN UNITED STATES MAGISTRATE JUDGE CERTIFICATE OF SERVICE I hereby certify on October 6, 2019 that I electronically filed the foregoing paper with the Clerk of the Court sending notification of such filing to all counsel registered electronically. I hereby certify that a copy of this paper was mailed to the following non- registered ECF participants October 6, 2019. s/Carolyn M. Ciesla Case Manager for the Honorable R. Steven Whalen