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 Plaintiff Brandon Farnsworth has filed a 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, so that he can “be able to use these materials for my discovery and/or summary judgment.” [ECF No. 34]. 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. 34] is DENIED. IT IS SO ORDERED. s/R. Steven Whalen R. STEVEN WHALEN UNITED STATES MAGISTRATE JUDGE Dated: September 26, 2019 ________________________________________________________________ CERTIFICATE OF SERVICE I hereby certify on September 26, 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 non-registered ECF participants on September 26, 2019. s/Carolyn M. Ciesla Case Manager to Magistrate Judge R. Steven Whalen