Faith Lynn Brashear v. California Unemployment Insurance Appeals Board, et al.
- Proceeding
- district
- Area
- civil
- Panel
- Robert Steven Huie (author)
Analysis
The court considered a pro se civil action initiated by Faith Lynn Brashear against the California Unemployment Insurance Appeals Board and others. The court dismissed the action without prejudice for failure to pay the required filing fee or move to proceed in forma pauperis, granting the plaintiff thirty days to cure the deficiency.
| What the court decided | The model |
|---|---|
Dismissal of the civil action without prejudice“DISMISSES this action WITHOUT PREJUDICE for Plaintiff's failure to pay the $405 civil filing and administrative fee as required by 28 U.S.C. § 1914(a) or failure to move to proceed IFP pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 1915(a).” | agree with court The dismissal is procedurally correct. Under 28 U.S.C. § 1914(a), a civil action in district court requires a filing fee. If the plaintiff does not pay the fee, they must file a motion to proceed in forma pauperis under 28 U.S.C. § 1915(a). The order states the plaintiff did neither. Dismissal without prejudice is the standard remedy to allow the plaintiff to cure the defect by paying the fee or filing the IFP motion. |
Grant of 30 days to reopen the case“GRANTS Plaintiff thirty (30) days leave from the date of this Order to re-open the case by: (a) paying the $405 civil filing and administrative fee required by 28 U.S.C. § 1914(a) in full; or (b) completing and submitting a properly supported motion to proceed IFP.” | agree with court Granting a short period to cure a procedural defect (failure to pay fees) before final dismissal is consistent with due process and common practice in the Ninth Circuit for pro se litigants, ensuring they have a fair opportunity to comply with statutory requirements. |
The order itself: sound — The order correctly identifies the statutory requirements for filing fees and the alternative of proceeding in forma pauperis. It cites the correct statutes and Ninth Circuit precedent to support the requirement that a plaintiff must either pay the fee or file an IFP motion. The remedy of dismissal without prejudice with a 30-day window to cure is appropriate and standard.
Opinion
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT 9 SOUTHERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA 10 11 FAITH LYNN BRASHEAR, Case No.: 26-cv-1726-RSH-DEB 12 Plaintiff, ORDER DISMISSING CIVIL 13 v. ACTION WITHOUT PREJUDICE FOR FAILING TO PAY FILING FEE 14 CALIFORNIA UNEMPLOYMENT REQUIRED BY 28 U.S.C. § 1914(a) INSURANCE APPEALS BOARD, et al., 15 OR FAILING TO MOVE TO Defendants. PROCEED IN FORMA PAUPERIS 16 PURSUANT TO 28 U.S.C. § 1915(a) 17 18 19 20 On March 18, 2026, plaintiff Faith Lynn Brashear, proceeding pro se, initiated this 21 civil action. ECF No. 1. 22 All parties instituting any civil action, suit or proceeding in a district court of the 23 United States, except an application for writ of habeas corpus, must pay a filing fee of 24 $405, consisting of a $350 statutory fee plus an additional administrative fee of $55. See 25 28 U.S.C. § 1914(a); Judicial Conference Schedule of Fees, District Court Misc. Fee 26 Schedule, § 14 (eff. Dec. 1, 2023)). An action may proceed despite a plaintiff’s failure to 27 prepay the entire fee only if she is granted leave to proceed IFP pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 28 1915(a). See Escobedo v. Applebees, 787 F.3d 1226, 1232 (9th Cir. 2015) (“Section 1 || 1915(a)(1) allows federal courts to authorize commencement of a suit ‘without prepayment 2 || of fees or security therefor, by a person who submits an affidavit’ demonstrating ‘that the 3 ||person is unable to pay such fees or give security therefor.’”) (quoting 28 U.S. Code § 4 111915(a)(1)); see Hymas vy. United States DOI, 73 F Ath 763, 766 n.3 (9th Cir. 2023) 5 1915(a)(1) applies to all persons notwithstanding its ‘prisoner possesses’ language.’’) 6 ||(internal quotation marks omitted). Here, Plaintiff has neither prepaid the $405 in filing 7 administrative fees required to commence this civil action nor submitted a motion to 8 || proceed IFP pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 1915(a). 9 For these reasons, the Court: 10 l. DISMISSES this action WITHOUT PREJUDICE for Plaintiff's failure to 11 pay the $405 civil filing and administrative fee as required by 28 U.S.C. § 12 1914(a) or failure to move to proceed IFP pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 1915(a). 13 2. GRANTS Plaintiff thirty (30) days leave from the date of this Order to 14 re-open the case by: (a) paying the $405 civil filing and administrative fee 15 required by 28 U.S.C. § 1914(a) in full; or (b) completing and submitting a 16 properly supported motion to proceed IFP. The Clerk of Court is DIRECTED 17 to send, along with this Order, a copy of AO 239 (Rev. 01/15) Application to 18 Proceed in District Court Without Prepaying Fees or Costs (Long Form). 19 If Plaintiff has done neither by the deadline, this civil action will remain dismissed 20 || without prejudice pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 1914(a) without further Order of the Court. 21 IT IS SO ORDERED. 22 || Dated: April 9, 2026 ‘ 53 fekut ¢ Howe Hon. Robert S. Huie United States District Judge 25 26 27 28