AHSAN v. SAN DIEGO SHERIFF DEPARTMENT
- Proceeding
- district
- Area
- civil
- Panel
- James E. Simmons (author)
Analysis
The court reviewed a pro se prisoner's civil rights complaint and motion to proceed in forma pauperis (IFP) that lacked the required 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 properly supported IFP motion.
| What the court decided | The model |
|---|---|
Denial of Motion to Proceed In Forma Pauperis“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 prisoner plaintiffs submit a certified copy of their trust fund account statement for the six months preceding the filing of the complaint. Because the plaintiff failed to include this required document, the court was legally compelled to deny the IFP motion. The decision follows directly from the statutory text and the cited Ninth Circuit precedent. |
Dismissal of Civil Action Without Prejudice“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) & 1915(a).” | agree with court Under 28 U.S.C. § 1914(a), a civil action cannot proceed unless the filing fee is paid or the plaintiff is granted leave to proceed IFP. Since the IFP motion was properly denied due to the missing trust account statement, the court was required to dismiss the action. The dismissal is without prejudice, allowing the plaintiff to cure the defect within 45 days, which is a standard and appropriate procedural remedy for this type of deficiency. |
The order itself: sound — The order is procedurally correct and cites the appropriate statutory and case law authorities. It accurately identifies the missing trust account statement as the basis for denying the IFP motion and dismissing the case. The 45-day window to cure the defect is a standard local practice (S.D. Cal. CivLR 3.2(b)) that provides due process to the pro se litigant.
Opinion
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT 9 SOUTHERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA 10 11 MAHMOOD AHSAN, Case No.: 25cv1523-JES (KSC) BOOKING #2473372 12 ORDER DENYING MOTION TO Plaintiff, 13 PROCEED IN FORMA PAUPERIS vs. AND DISMISSING CIVIL ACTION 14 15 SAN DIEGO SHERIFF DEPARTMENT, 16 et al., 17 Defendants. 18 19 Plaintiff Mahmood Ashan, confined at the San Diego Central Jail, proceeding pro 20 se, filed a civil rights Complaint pursuant to 42 U.S.C. § 1983 along with a motion to 21 proceed in forma pauperis (“IFP”) in the United States District Court for the District of 22 Columbia. (ECF Nos. 1-2.) The case was then transferred to this Court. (ECF No. 3.) 23 I. Motion to Proceed IFP 24 All parties instituting any civil action, suit or proceeding in a district court of the 25 United States, except an application for writ of habeas corpus, must pay a filing fee of 26 $405, consisting of a $350 statutory fee plus an additional administrative fee of $55, 27 although the administrative fee does not apply to persons granted leave to proceed IFP. 28 See 28 U.S.C. § 1914(a) (Judicial Conference Schedule of Fees, District Court Misc. Fee 1 Schedule, § 14 (eff. Dec. 1, 2023)). The action may proceed despite a plaintiff’s failure to 2 prepay the entire fee only if he is granted leave to proceed IFP pursuant to 28 U.S.C. 3 § 1915(a). See Andrews v. Cervantes, 493 F.3d 1047, 1051 (9th Cir. 2007). Section 4 1915(a)(2) requires prisoners seeking leave to proceed IFP to submit a “certified copy of 5 the trust fund account statement (or institutional equivalent) for . . . the 6-month period 6 immediately preceding the filing of the complaint.” 28 U.S.C. § 1915(a)(2); Andrews v. 7 King, 398 F.3d 1113, 1119 (9th Cir. 2005). From the certified trust account statement, the 8 Court assesses an initial payment of 20% of (a) the average monthly deposits in the account 9 for the past six months, or (b) the average monthly balance in the account for the past six 10 months, whichever is greater, unless the prisoner has insufficient assets. See 28 U.S.C. 11 § 1915(b)(1)&(4); Bruce v. Samuels, 577 U.S. 82, 84 (2016). Prisoners who proceed IFP 12 must pay any remaining balance in “increments” or “installments,” regardless of whether 13 their action is ultimately dismissed. 28 U.S.C. § 1915(b)(1)&(2); Bruce, 577 U.S. at 84. 14 Plaintiff’s IFP application does not contains a trust fund account statement. (See 15 ECF No. 2.) The Court cannot grant the IFP application without a trust fund account 16 statement containing financial information for the 6-month period immediately preceding 17 the filing of the Complaint. See Andrews, 398 F.3d at 1119 (“prisoners must demonstrate 18 that they are not able to pay the filing fee with an affidavit and submission of their prison 19 trust account records.”), citing 28 U.S.C. § 1915(a)(1)&(2). 20 The motion to proceed IFP is DENIED and this action is DISMISSED without 21 prejudice based on Plaintiff’s failure to pay the filing fee or to submit a properly supported 22 motion to proceed IFP pursuant to 28 U.S.C. §§ 1914(a) & 1915(a). 23 II. Conclusion and Order 24 Accordingly, the Court: 25 (1) DENIES Plaintiff’s motion to proceed IFP without prejudice. 26 (2) DISMISSES this civil action without prejudice based on Plaintiff’s failure to 27 pay the civil filing and administrative fee or to submit a properly supported motion to 28 proceed IFP pursuant to 28 U.S.C. §§ 1914(a) & 1915(a). 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 which includes a certified copy of his 4 || prison trust account statement for the 6-month period preceding the filing of his Complaint. 5 || See 28 U.S.C. § 1915(a)(2); S.D. Cal. CivLR 3.2(b). If Plaintiff fails to either pay the $405 6 || civil filing fee or submit a properly supported motion to proceed IFP within 45 days, this 7 || action will remain dismissed without prejudice based solely on his failure to satisfy 28 8 |/U.S.C. § 1914(a)’s fee requirement and without further Order of the Court. 9 IT IS SO ORDERED 10 || Dated: July 25, 2025 ul Stin——"J,. 12 Honorable James E. Simmons Jr. 13 United States District Judge 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 3 ee