Tafoya v. Villa

District Court, S.D. California · 3:25-cv-02403 · 2025-09-26 · Unknown

Proceeding: district
Area: civil
Panel: Anthony J. Battaglia (author)

Analysis

A model's reading — qwen3.8-27b, prompt own-v1, 2026-10-13T20:53Z · confidence high

The court considered a pro se prisoner's motion to proceed in forma pauperis (IFP) and a civil rights complaint. The court denied the IFP motion and dismissed the action without prejudice because the plaintiff failed to provide a certified trust fund account statement.

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 statement was blank, meaning the statutory requirement was not met. Denying the motion is the only option available when the required documentation is absent or insufficient.
Civil Action Dismissed 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 IFP status. Since the IFP motion was properly denied due to the lack of a certified trust account statement, the court was required to dismiss the action. The dismissal is without prejudice, allowing the plaintiff to refile if they cure the deficiency within the 45-day window provided.

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 statement was blank, meaning the statutory requirement was not met. Denying the motion is the only option available when the required documentation is absent or insufficient.

Civil Action Dismissed 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 IFP status. Since the IFP motion was properly denied due to the lack of a certified trust account statement, the court was required to dismiss the action. The dismissal is without prejudice, allowing the plaintiff to refile if they cure the deficiency within the 45-day window provided.

The order itself: sound — The order is procedurally sound. It correctly identifies the statutory requirements for IFP status under 28 U.S.C. § 1915(a)(2) and cites the appropriate Ninth Circuit precedent (Andrews v. King) regarding the necessity of a certified trust account statement. The court's finding that the statement was 'blank' provides the factual basis for the denial. The dismissal without prejudice and the 45-day window to cure the deficiency are standard and appropriate remedies in this context.

How this analysis was made · dispute it

Opinion

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT 9 SOUTHERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA 10 11 PACO JAMES TAFOYA, Case No.: 25-cv-02403-AJB-DDL CDCR # BG-6524 12 ORDER DENYING MOTION TO Plaintiff, 13 PROCEED IN FORMA PAUPERIS vs. AND DISMISSING CIVIL ACTION 14 15 JOSE VILLA and ALEJANDRO DIAZ, 16 Defendants. 17 18 19 Plaintiff Paco James Tafoya, a state prisoner proceeding pro se, has filed a civil 20 rights Complaint pursuant to 42 U.S.C. § 1983 along with a motion to proceed in forma 21 pauperis (“IFP”). (Doc. 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. See 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 Doc. No. 2 at 5.) 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 (“prisoners 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) & 1915(a). 28 / / / 1 (3) GRANTS Plaintiff forty-five (45) days leave from the date this Order 1s 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 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: September 26, 2025 12 United States District Judge 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 3