KEMP v. MCFARLEN et al

IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
FOR THE MIDDLE DISTRICT OF GEORGIA
MACON DIVISION
BRANDON DEVONTAE KEMP, 	:
:
Plaintiff, 	:
:
v. 	: 	Case No. 5:25-cv-59-CAR-AGH
:
WARDEN ANDREW MCFARLEN, 	:
et al., 	:
:
Defendants. 	:
________________________________ 	:
ORDER
Presently pending before the Court are the claims of pro se Plaintiff Brandon
Devontae Kemp, an inmate currently incarcerated in the Valdosta State Prison in
Valdosta, Georgia, seeking relief pursuant to 42 U.S.C. § 1983 (ECF No. 1). On May 30,
2025, the Court dismissed Plaintiff’s Complaint for failure to comply with its previous
orders and instructions and entered judgment (ECF Nos. 7, 8). 	In doing so, the Court
noted that Plaintiff had not responded to the Court’s March 18, 2025 Order directing
Plaintiff to pay the filing fee or submit a complete and proper motion to proceed in forma
pauperis or the April 22, 2025 Order directing Plaintiff to show cause why his lawsuit
should not be dismissed for failure to comply with the March 18th Order. 	Shortly after
the 	Court 	entered 	its 	order 	of 	dismissal, 	however, 	Plaintiff 	filed 	a 	motion 	for
reconsideration of the order of dismissal (ECF No. 9). 	Plaintiff has since filed another
letter further explaining his failure to comply with the March 18th Order (ECF No. 10)
and a response to the April 22nd Show Cause Order (ECF No. 11).
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In light of the Court’s duty to liberally construe pro se pleadings, and because
final 	judgment 	has 	been 	entered, 	the 	Court 	will 	construe 	Plaintiff’s 	motion 	for
reconsideration as one to alter or amend judgment under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure
59(e). 	See Castro v. United States, 540 U.S. 375, 381-82 (2003) (noting that “[f]ederal
courts sometimes will ignore the legal label that a pro se litigant attaches to a motion and
recharacterize the motion in order to place it within a different legal category” for reasons
including the creation of “a better correspondence between the substance of a pro se
motion and its underlying legal basis” and the avoidance of “an inappropriately stringent
application of formal labeling requirements”). 	“The only grounds for granting [a Rule
59] motion are newly-discovered evidence or manifest errors of law or fact.” 	Arthur v.
King, 500 F.3d 1335, 1343 (11th Cir. 2007) (per curiam) (alteration in original) (quoting
In re Kellogg, 197 F.3d 1116, 1119 (11th Cir. 1999)). 	Such motions cannot be used “to
relitigate old matters, raise argument or present evidence that could have been raised
prior to the entry of judgment.” Id. (quoting Michael Linet, Inc. v. Village of Wellington,
408 F.3d 757, 763 (11th Cir. 2005)).
In this case, Plaintiff asserts that he did not receive the Court’s orders with
sufficient time to respond due to delays with the prison mailing system. ECF No. 9 at 1.
Plaintiff supports this contention by submitting documents that show that he received his
prison trust fund account statement on May 7, 2025. See, e.g., ECF No. 10 at 1. He also
submits a request for indigent postage dated May 7, 2025 that took two weeks for prison
officials to process. 	ECF No. 9-1 at 1. 	Finally, Plaintiff submits a copy of his prison
trust fund account information that complies with the Court’s March 18th Order. 	See
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generally ECF Nos. 11-1, 11-2. 	Based on these submissions, the Court finds that relief
under Rule 59(e) is appropriate. 	Plaintiff’s motion (ECF No. 9) is GRANTED, and the
Court VACATES the Court’s May 30, 2025 Order (ECF No. 7) and Judgment (ECF No.
8). 	The Clerk is DIRECTED to remand this case to the assigned United States
Magistrate Judge for preliminary screening under 28 U.S.C. § 1915A and § 1915(e) and
any additional further proceedings in accordance with the February 19, 2025 Order of
Referral (ECF No. 3).
SO ORDERED this 5th day of January, 2026.
s/ C. Ashley Royal
C. ASHLEY ROYAL, SENIOR JUDGE
UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
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