Opinion

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT 9 SOUTHERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA 10 11 SOPHIA NOELL CHRISTOPHER, Case No.: 3:25-cv-2838-CAB-SBC Booking No. 25728110, 12 ORDER: Plaintiff, 13 (1) DENYING MOTION TO vs. PROCEED IN FORMA PAUPERIS 14 AND 15 LAS COLINAS DETENTION FACILITY, (2) DISMISSING CIVIL ACTION 16 COUNTY OF SAN DIEGO, STATE OF WITHOUT PREJUDICE FOR 17 CALIFORNIA, U.S. GOVERNMENT, FAILURE TO PAY FILING FEES PORSHA SNOW, CORPORAL HARNESS, REQUIRED BY 28 U.S.C. § 1914(a) 18 PARADA, MOSKLEVA, 19 Defendants. [Doc No. 5] 20 21 Sophia Noell Christopher (“Plaintiff”) is proceeding pro se with a civil rights 22 complaint pursuant to 42 U.S.C. § 1983. [Doc. No. 1.] When initiating the civil action, 23 Plaintiff filed a Motion to Proceed In Forma Pauperis (“IFP”) pursuant to 28 U.S.C. 24 § 1915(a). [Doc. No. 2.] The Court denied the IFP motion and dismissed the action on 25 December 18, 2025 because Plaintiff had failed to submit a complete IFP application 26 because she had not included a copy of her trust account statement for the 6-month period 27 immediately preceding the filing of her Complaint. [Doc. No. 3.] The Court gave Plaintiff 28 an opportunity to have the case reopened by either filing a properly supported IFP motion 1 or paying the civil filing fee by February 2, 2026. [Id. at 3.] On January 15, 2026, Plaintiff 2 filed another Motion to Proceed IFP. [Doc. No. 5.] For the reasons discussed below, the 3 Court again DENIES Plaintiff’s IFP motion and DISMISSES the action without prejudice. 4 I. DISCUSSION 5 As discussed in this Court’s previous Order, parties instituting any civil action, suit 6 or proceeding in a district court of the United States, except an application for writ of 7 habeas corpus, must pay a filing fee of $405.1 See 28 U.S.C. § 1914(a). The action may 8 proceed despite a failure to pay the entire fee at the time of filing only if the court grants 9 the Plaintiff leave to proceed IFP pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 1915(a). See Andrews v. 10 Cervantes, 493 F.3d 1047, 1051 (9th Cir. 2007); cf. Hymas v. U.S. Dep’t of the Interior, 73 11 F.4th 763, 765 (9th Cir. 2023) (“[W]here the IFP application is denied altogether, 12 Plaintiff’s case [cannot] proceed unless and until the fee[s] [a]re paid.”). 13 To proceed IFP, prisoners must “submit[] an affidavit that includes a statement of 14 all assets [they] possess[,]” as well as a “certified copy of the[ir] trust fund account 15 statement (or institutional equivalent) for . . . the 6-month period immediately preceding 16 the filing of the complaint.” 28 U.S.C. § 1915(a)(1), (2); Andrews v. King, 398 F.3d 1113, 17 1119 (9th Cir. 2005). Using this financial information, the court “assess[es] and when 18 funds exist, collect[s], … an initial partial filing fee,” which is “calculated based on ‘the 19 average monthly deposits to the prisoner’s account’ or ‘the average monthly balance in the 20 prisoner’s account’ over a 6-month term; the remainder of the fee is to be paid in ‘monthly 21 payments of 20 percent of the preceding month’s income credited to the prisoner’s 22 account.” Hymas, 73 F.4th at 767 (quoting 28 U.S.C. § 1915(b)(1)–(2)). Thus, while 23 prisoners may qualify to proceed IFP without having to pay the full statutory filing upfront, 24 they remain obligated to pay the full amount due in monthly payments. See Bruce v. 25 26 1 In addition to the $350 statutory fee, civil litigants must pay an additional administrative fee of 27 $55. See 28 U.S.C. § 1914(a) (Judicial Conference Schedule of Fees, District Court Misc. Fee Schedule, § 14 (eff. Dec. 1, 2023). The additional $55 administrative fee does not apply to persons 28 1 || Samuels, 577 U.S. 82, 84 (2016); 28 U.S.C. § 1915(b)(1) & (2); Taylor v. Delatoore, 281 2 || F.3d 844, 847 (9th Cir. 2002). 3 Here, Plaintiff's IFP Motion [Doc. No. 5] is again incomplete because she has failed 4 ||to include a certified copy of her trust account statement for the 6-month period 5 ||immediately preceding the filing of her Complaint. See 28 U.S.C. § 1915(a)(2); CivLR 6 Without a certified trust account statement, the Court is unable to assess any initial 7 || partial filing fee that may be required. See 28 U.S.C. § 1915(b)(1). 8 ||. CONCLUSION AND ORDER 9 Accordingly, the Court: 10 (1) DENIES Plaintiff's Motion to Proceed IFP [Doc. No. 5] and DISMISSES 11 || the action without prejudice. See 28 U.S.C. §§ 1915(a) & 1914(a). 12 (2) GRANTS Plaintiff forty-five (45) days from the date of this Order to re-open 13 || her case by either: (a) prepaying the entire $405 civil filing and administrative fee in one 14 |/lump-sum; or (b) filing a renewed Motion to Proceed IFP, which includes a prison 15 || certificate, signed by a trust accounting official attesting as to her trust account balances 16 || and deposits and/or a certified copy of her Inmate Statement Report for the 6-month period 17 || preceding the filing of her Complaint pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 1915(a)(2) and CivLR 3.2(b). 18 If Plaintiff chooses not to comply with this Order by either paying the $405 civil 19 || filing fee and administrative fee in full by or submitting a properly supported IFP Motion 20 || within forty-five (45) days, this case will remain dismissed without prejudice and without 21 || further order of the Court based on Plaintiff's failure to comply with 28 U.S.C. § 1914(a). 22 (3) DIRECTS the Clerk of Court to provide Plaintiff with a Court-approved form 23 ||““Motion and Declaration in Support of Motion to Proceed Jn Forma Pauperis.” 24 It is SO ORDERED. 25 || Dated: February 26, 2026 G g 26 Hon. Cathy Ann Bencivengo United States District Judge 28