Harris v. Richmond
- Proceeding
- district
- Area
- civil
- Panel
- Cynthia Ann Bashant (author)
Analysis
A pro se state prisoner filed a civil rights complaint and a motion to proceed in forma pauperis (IFP), but failed to provide a certified prison trust account statement. The court denied the IFP motion and dismissed the action without prejudice, granting the plaintiff 45 days to pay the filing fee or resubmit a proper IFP motion.
| What the court decided | The model |
|---|---|
Motion to Proceed In Forma Pauperis Denied“The motion to proceed IFP is DENIED and this action is DISMISSED without prejudice based on Plaintiff’s failure to pay the filing fee or to submit a properly supported motion to proceed IFP pursuant to 28 U.S.C. §§ 1914(a), 1915(a).” | agree with court The court correctly applied 28 U.S.C. § 1915(a)(2), which mandates that prisoners seeking IFP status must submit a certified copy of their trust fund account statement for the six months preceding the filing. The order recites that the plaintiff's submitted statement was blank. Without this required financial information, the court cannot assess the initial payment required by § 1915(b)(1) or determine if the plaintiff is indigent. Denial is the only procedural option available when the statutory prerequisite is not met. |
Civil Action Dismissed Without Prejudice“(2) DISMISSES this civil action without prejudice based on Plaintiff’s failure to pay the civil filing and administrative fee or to submit a properly supported motion to proceed IFP pursuant to 28 U.S.C. §§ 1914(a) and 1915(a).” | agree with court Under 28 U.S.C. § 1915(a)(2), if a prisoner fails to pay the filing fee and is not granted IFP status, the court must dismiss the action. The dismissal is without prejudice because the defect is procedural (failure to pay or prove indigency) rather than substantive. The court granted a 45-day window to cure the defect, which is consistent with local rules and due process for pro se litigants. |
The order itself: sound — The order is procedurally sound. It correctly identifies the statutory requirement for a certified trust account statement under the Prison Litigation Reform Act (PLRA). It accurately notes that the plaintiff's submission was blank, rendering it insufficient to support an IFP motion. The dismissal without prejudice and the grant of time to cure are standard and appropriate remedies for this procedural deficiency. The court cited the correct Ninth Circuit precedent and Supreme Court authority regarding the mechanics of IFP fees.
Opinion
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT 9 SOUTHERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA 10 11 DAVID D. HARRIS, Case No.: 25-cv-1574-BAS-DDL CDCR # P-54352 12 ORDER DENYING MOTION TO Plaintiff, 13 PROCEED IN FORMA PAUPERIS vs. AND DISMISSING CIVIL ACTION 14 15 NURSE RICHMOND, 16 DR. M. BLAISDELL, 17 Defendants. 18 19 Plaintiff David D. Harris, a state prisoner proceeding pro se, has filed a civil rights 20 Complaint pursuant to 42 U.S.C. § 1983 along with a motion to proceed in forma pauperis 21 (“IFP”). (ECF Nos. 1–2.) 22 I. Motion to Proceed IFP 23 All parties instituting any civil action, suit, or proceeding in a district court of the 24 United States, except an application for writ of habeas corpus, must pay a filing fee of 25 $405, consisting of a $350 statutory fee plus an additional administrative fee of $55, 26 although the administrative fee does not apply to persons granted leave to proceed IFP. 27 See 28 U.S.C. § 1914(a) (Judicial Conference Schedule of Fees, District Court Misc. Fee 28 Schedule, § 14 (eff. Dec. 1, 2023)). The action may proceed despite a plaintiff’s failure to 1 prepay the entire fee only if he is granted leave to proceed IFP pursuant to 28 U.S.C. 2 § 1915(a). See Andrews v. Cervantes, 493 F.3d 1047, 1051 (9th Cir. 2007). Section 3 1915(a)(2) requires prisoners seeking leave to proceed IFP to submit a “certified copy of 4 the trust fund account statement (or institutional equivalent) for . . . the 6-month period 5 immediately preceding the filing of the complaint.” 28 U.S.C. § 1915(a)(2); Andrews v. 6 King, 398 F.3d 1113, 1119 (9th Cir. 2005). From the certified trust account statement, the 7 Court assesses an initial payment of 20% of (a) the average monthly deposits in the account 8 for the past six months, or (b) the average monthly balance in the account for the past six 9 months, whichever is greater, unless the prisoner has insufficient assets. 28 U.S.C. 10 § 1915(b)(1)&(4); Bruce v. Samuels, 577 U.S. 82, 84 (2016). Prisoners who proceed IFP 11 must pay any remaining balance in “increments” or “installments,” regardless of whether 12 their action is ultimately dismissed. 28 U.S.C. § 1915(b)(1)–(2); Bruce, 577 U.S. at 84. 13 Plaintiff’s IFP application contains a trust fund account statement, but it is blank. 14 (See ECF No. 2 at 4.) The Court cannot grant his IFP application without a trust fund 15 account statement containing financial information for the 6-month period immediately 16 preceding the filing of his Complaint. See Andrews, 398 F.3d at 1119 (“[P]risoners must 17 demonstrate that they are not able to pay the filing fee with an affidavit and submission of 18 their prison trust account records.” (citing 28 U.S.C. § 1915(a)(1)–(2)). 19 The motion to proceed IFP is DENIED and this action is DISMISSED without 20 prejudice based on Plaintiff’s failure to pay the filing fee or to submit a properly supported 21 motion to proceed IFP pursuant to 28 U.S.C. §§ 1914(a), 1915(a). 22 II. Conclusion and Order 23 Accordingly, the Court: 24 (1) DENIES Plaintiff’s motion to proceed IFP without prejudice. 25 (2) DISMISSES this civil action without prejudice based on Plaintiff’s failure to 26 pay the civil filing and administrative fee or to submit a properly supported motion to 27 proceed IFP pursuant to 28 U.S.C. §§ 1914(a) and 1915(a). 28 1 (3) GRANTS Plaintiff forty-five (45) days leave from the date this Order is filed 2 || to: (a) prepay the entire $405 civil filing and administrative fee in full; or (b) complete and 3 || file a properly supported motion to proceed IFP that includes a certified copy of his prison 4 ||trust account statement for the 6-month period preceding the filing of his Complaint. See 5 U.S.C. § 1915(a)(2); CivLR 3.2(b). If Plaintiff fails to either pay the $405 civil filing 6 || fee or submit a properly supported motion to proceed IFP within forty-five days, this action 7 || will remain dismissed without prejudice based solely on his failure to satisfy 28 U.S.C. 8 1914(a)’s fee requirement and without further Order of the Court. 9 IT IS SO ORDERED. 10 11 || DATED: July 11, 2025 (yatta Bahar 12 Hon. Cynthia Bashant, Chief Judge 13 United States District Court 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 3 □