Williams v. Rivello

United States District Court for the Middle District of Pennsylvania · June 17, 2025 · No. 1:24-cv-01078

Summary

This federal district court order grants the plaintiff's application to proceed in forma pauperis and directs the payment of filing fees pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 1915(b). The court dismisses several claims, including those under the Federal Tort Claims Act and Section 1983, as well as state-law tort claims, without prejudice. The plaintiff is granted thirty days to file an amended complaint limited to his Section 1983 claim against Defendant J. Rivello in his individual capacity and any reasserted state-law claims, or else the dismissal will become final.

Court
United States District Court for the Middle District of Pennsylvania
Writing for the Court
Yvette Kane
Jurisdiction
United States District Court for the Middle District of Pennsylvania
Decision date
June 17, 2025
Docket number
1:24-cv-01078
Procedural posture
Complaint dismissed; plaintiff granted in forma pauperis and given leave to amend certain claims.
Precedential value
nonprecedential
Disposition
dismissed

Topics

motions to dismisscivil proceduresection 1983

Practice areas

civil procedurecivil rights

Questions Presented

  1. Whether the plaintiff is entitled to proceed in forma pauperis under 28 U.S.C. §1915(b).
  2. Whether the plaintiff's claims should be dismissed with or without prejudice and whether leave to amend is appropriate.

Holdings

  1. The IFP application is granted; the plaintiff may proceed in forma pauperis, but must pay the filing fee as directed.
  2. All claims are dismissed without prejudice; the plaintiff may amend the complaint within 30 days to assert only the Section 1983 claim against Rivello in his individual capacity and any state-law claims.

Key quotations

Pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 1915(b)(1) and (2), the Superintendent/Warden, or other appropriate official at Williams’s place of confinement is directed to deduct an initial partial filing fee of 20% of the greater of: (A) the average monthly deposits in Williams’s prison account for the past six months, or (B) the average monthly balance in Williams’s prison account for the past six months.

Factual background

Prisoner Tyrick Williams filed a complaint asserting Federal Tort Claims Act and Section 1983 claims against prison officials and J. Rivello. He submitted an application to proceed in forma pauperis and provided a certified prison trust fund statement.

Procedural history

Plaintiff Tyrick Williams, a prisoner, filed a pro se civil rights complaint alleging FTCA and §1983 claims. The court considered his in forma pauperis application and dismissed the claims without prejudice, granting leave to amend.

Remand instructions

Plaintiff has thirty (30) days to file an amended complaint limited to the Section 1983 claim against Defendant J. Rivello in his individual capacity and any state‑law claims; if no amendment is filed, the court will presume the plaintiff stands on the original complaint.

Court Document

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