Duarte v. Norfolk County Sheriff's Office et al

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
DISTRICT OF MASSACHUSETTS
ERIC J. DUARTE,
Plaintiff,
v.
DANIELLE FRANE, et al.,
Defendants.
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Civil Action No.
23-11725-NMG
ORDER
GORTON, J.
On August 16, 2024, the Court issued an order in which it
directed the Clerk to issue summonses and ordered plaintiff Eric
J. Duarte, who was a pretrial detainee confined at Bridgewater
State Hospital, to complete service within 90 days. 	(Docket
# 43). 	The Court stated in the same order that service had to
be effected in accordance with Rule 4 of the Federal Rules of
Civil Procedure, and that service by mail was insufficient. 	The
Court also warned Duarte that failure to timely complete service
could result in dismissal of the action. 	The Court stated that,
because Duarte was proceeding in forma pauperis he could ask the
United States Marshals Service to complete service with all
costs of service to be paid by the United States.
There is no record on the docket of this case that service
of the summonses has been executed. 	The Court has not received
any documentation from the USMS that it effected service for
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this action. 	A Clerk contacted the USMS to inquire regarding
this issue and was informed that, although the agency had
received documents from Duarte for service in other cases, it
had not received documents for this action.
Accordingly, the Court hereby ORDERS Duarte to show good
cause, within twenty-eight (28) days, why this action should not
be dismissed for failure to complete service. 	Failure to do so
will result in dismissal of this action.
The motions for joinder (Docket ## 58, 64) are DENIED.1
So ordered.
/s/ Nathaniel M. Gorton
Nathaniel M. Gorton
United States District Judge
Dated: February 25, 2026
1 The Court notes that, on several occasions, Duarte has
complained about the collection of the fees for actions filed in
this Court. 	See, e.g., Docket # 72. 	Duarte is responsible for
paying the $350 statutory filing fee for each case in which he
has been allowed to proceed in forma pauperis. 	After the
initial partial filing fee is paid, “the prisoner shall be
required to make monthly payments of 20 percent of the preceding
month’s income credited to the prisoner’s account.” 	28 U.S.C.
§ 1915(b)(2). 	When a prisoner has pending filing fee
obligations in more than one case, he is obliged to pay “20
percent of the preceding month’s income” simultaneously for each
case in which he has an outstanding filing fee obligation. 	See
Bruce v. Samuels, 577 U.S. 82, 89-91 (2016).
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