HOFFENDEN v. BOOTH et al

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UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
NORTHERN DISTRICT OF FLORIDA
PENSACOLA DIVISION
ALAN C. HOFFENDEN,
Plaintiff,
v. 	Case No. 3:25cv2480-LC-HTC
J. BOOTH, et al.,
Defendants.
_____________________/
REPORT AND RECOMMENDATION
Plaintiff Alan C. Hoffenden, proceeding pro se and in forma pauperis, filed
an amended civil rights complaint under 42 U.S.C. § 1983, alleging Defendants
denied him access to the courts. 	Doc. 10. 	Upon review, the case should be
DISMISSED WITHOUT PREJUDICE because Hoffenden (1) failed to truthfully
disclose his litigation history and (2) failed to pay the initial partial filing fee in this
case.
I. 	DISCUSSION
Hoffenden initiated this action by filing a handwritten complaint, not on this
Court’s approved form. Doc. 1; see N.D. Fla. Loc. R. 5.7(A) (requiring the use of
the Court’s approved forms). After reviewing the complaint, the Court entered an
order directing Hoffenden to file an amended complaint, on this Court’s approved
complaint form, and to pay an initial partial filing fee of $4.83. 	Doc. 4. 	After
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Case No. 3:25cv2480-LC-HTC
Hoffenden failed to timely comply with the Court’s Order, the Court issued a show
cause order advising Hoffenden that his case would be dismissed if he did not
comply with the prior order within fourteen (14) days. 	Doc. 8. 	Subsequently,
Hoffenden filed an amended complaint,1 which—as discussed below—is deficient,
and filed a response indicating he “will pay” the initial partial filing fee either when
he is released from administrative confinement or when he can get his “loved ones”
to do so. Doc. 9.
For the reasons discussed below, the undersigned recommends this action be
dismissed under the Court’s inherent power for Hoffenden’s failure to truthfully
disclose his litigation history and failure to follow orders of the Court.
A. 	Failure to Disclose
Despite an order from the Court to file an amended complaint on this Court’s
approved form and being sent the correct version to use (Doc. 4), Hoffenden
submitted an amended complaint on an old version of the complaint form. The old
version of the form nonetheless includes a section requiring Hoffenden to disclose
1 In the amended complaint, Hoffenden alleges his legal work was lost and that he had court
deadlines. Doc. 10. These barebones allegations are insufficient to state a claim for lack of access
to the courts. See, e.g., Smith v. Israel, 619 F. App’x 839, 842 (11th Cir. 2015) (affirming dismissal
for failure to state a claim because plaintiff did not demonstrate a constitutional injury when he
alleged a jail official threw away his appeal-related legal documents but plaintiff’s amended
complaint “did not identify the nature of his appeal, much less a nonfrivolous underlying legal
claim for which he sought relief in that appeal”); see also Taylor v. Gray, 2020 WL 10052646, at
*4 (N.D. Fla. Mar. 2, 2020) (recommending dismissal for failure to state a claim where plaintiff
did not “identify what underlying claims he would have brought … had he been afforded access
to his legal papers”).
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his prior litigation history,2 including “other lawsuits in state or federal court
otherwise relating to the conditions of [his] imprisonment.” 	Doc. 10 at 9. 	Thus,
Hoffenden was on notice of his disclosure requirements. 	See id. at 8-10 (Section
VIII, “Previous Lawsuits”). However, Hoffenden checked the boxes indicating he
had no lawsuits to disclose. Id.
Based 	on 	an 	independent 	inquiry, the Court takes judicial notice that
Hoffenden filed at least the following cases, both of which relate to the conditions
of his confinement: (1) 	Hoffenden v. Sec’y, Dep’t of Corr. et al., Case No.
6:22cv1864/PGB/EJK (M.D. Fla. Dec. 22, 2023) (petition for writ of habeas corpus,
challenging his criminal conviction); and (2) Hoffenden v. Williams et al., Case No.
6:25cv210/GAP/UAM (M.D. Fla. Feb. 25, 2025) (suing Century Correctional
Institution officers for false imprisonment under 42 U.S.C. § 1983). The plaintiff in
both cases is Alan Christopher Hoffenden, with inmate number X19725. Hoffenden
should have disclosed these cases and failed to do so.
The Court has the inherent power to dismiss a complaint for failure to disclose
even a single case. 	See McNair v. Johnson, 143 F.4th 1301 (11th Cir. 2025)
(recognizing court’s inherent authority to dismiss an action for failure to truthfully
2 The questions in this section serve several purposes, including assisting the Court in identifying
cases that qualify as strikes under 28 U.S.C. § 1915(g), cases that are related or duplicative, and in
gauging a plaintiff’s litigation experience. 	See Jacobs v. Comerford, 2013 WL 6184052 at *4
(N.D. Fla. Nov. 25, 2013).
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disclose litigation history when requested to do so on complaint form). 	Thus, an
appropriate sanction for Hoffenden’s failure to provide the Court with true factual
responses is to dismiss this case without prejudice. See Bratton v. Sec’y DOC, 2012
WL 2913171, at *1 (M.D. Fla. July 16, 2012) (dismissing case without prejudice
when prisoner failed to disclose one prior federal case that was dismissed under 28
U.S.C. § 1915(e)(2)); Johnson v. Crawson, No. 5:08cv300/RS/EMT, 2010 WL
1380247, at *2 (N.D. Fla. Mar. 3, 2010) (same); see also Strickland v. United States,
739 F. App’x 587, 588 (11th Cir. 2018) (“A sanction less than dismissal would signal
that a failure to disclose filings is an infraction without consequence.”). 	“If the
requirement for prisoner plaintiffs to disclose their prior lawsuits is to serve its
purpose, a plaintiff must provide accurate information. 	If word got around the
prisons that inaccurate or incomplete information could be provided with no
effective sanction, the form would serve little purpose.” 	Rodriguez v. Inch, No.
4:19cv191/RH/HTC, Doc. 52 (N.D. Fla. June 7, 2020).
B. 	Failure to Follow Orders of the Court
As stated above, the Court ordered Hoffenden to file an amended complaint
using this Court’s approved complaint form and further directed the clerk to send
him the form. Hoffenden, however, failed to follow that direction. Additionally, the
Court ordered Hoffenden to pay an initial partial filing fee (“IPFF”) of $4.83, which
he has also failed to do. See Doc. 4 at 4; Doc. 8 at 2.
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The Court has the inherent power to dismiss a case based on a party’s failure
to comply with orders of the Court, this Court’s local rules, or for abusing the judicial
process. McNair, 143 F.4th at 1308; see also N.D. Fla. Loc. R. 41.1 (“If a party fails
to comply with an applicable rule or a court order, the Court may strike a pleading,
dismiss a claim, enter a default on a claim, take other appropriate action, or issue an
order to show cause why any of these actions should not be taken.”).
Accordingly, it is RECOMMENDED that:
1. 	This case be DISMISSED WITHOUT PREJUDICE under the Court’s
inherent power for Hoffenden’s failure to truthfully disclose his litigation history and
failure to follow orders of the Court.
2. 	The clerk close the file.
At Pensacola, Florida, this 22nd day of January, 2026.
/s/ Hope Thai Cannon
HOPE THAI CANNON
UNITED STATES MAGISTRATE JUDGE
NOTICE TO THE PARTIES
Objections to these proposed findings and recommendations must be filed within
fourteen (14) days of the date of the Report and Recommendation. Any different
deadline that may appear on the electronic docket is for the court’s internal use only
and does not control. An objecting party must serve a copy of its objections upon all
other parties. A party who fails to object to the magistrate judge’s findings or
recommendations contained in a report and recommendation waives the right to
challenge on appeal the district court’s order based on the unobjected-to factual and
legal conclusions. See 11th Cir. Rule 3-1.
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