William Xavier Archibald III v. John Doe, et al.
- Proceeding
- district
- Area
- civil
- Panel
- Robert Steven Huie (author)
Analysis
The court reviewed a pro se civil action initiated without payment of the required filing fee or a motion to proceed in forma pauperis. The court dismissed the action without prejudice and granted the plaintiff thirty days to pay the fee or file a proper IFP motion.
| What the court decided | The model |
|---|---|
Dismissal of the civil action without prejudice for failure to pay the filing fee or move to proceed in forma pauperis.“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 decision follows directly from the statutory requirements cited in the order. 28 U.S.C. § 1914(a) mandates the payment of fees for civil actions, and 28 U.S.C. § 1915(a) provides the exclusive mechanism for waiving that requirement. The order recites that the plaintiff did neither, making dismissal the legally required outcome. |
Grant of thirty days leave to re-open the case by paying the fee or submitting a motion to proceed in forma pauperis.“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 before final dismissal is a standard exercise of judicial discretion in the Southern District of California and aligns with the goal of providing pro se litigants a fair opportunity to comply with statutory requirements. |
The order itself: sound — The order correctly identifies the statutory requirements for commencing a civil action and the specific failure of the plaintiff to meet them. It cites the correct statutes and Ninth Circuit precedent to support the conclusion that the action cannot proceed without either payment or a valid IFP motion. The reasoning is direct and legally sufficient for the procedural dismissal.
Opinion
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT 9 SOUTHERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA 10 11 WILLIAM XAVIER ARCHIBALD III, Case No.: 26-cv-2216-RSH-MMP 12 Plaintiff, ORDER DISMISSING CIVIL 13 v. ACTION WITHOUT PREJUDICE FOR FAILING TO PAY FILING FEE 14 JOHN DOE, et al., REQUIRED BY 28 U.S.C. § 1914(a) 15 Defendants. OR FAILING TO MOVE TO PROCEED IN FORMA PAUPERIS 16 PURSUANT TO 28 U.S.C. § 1915(a) 17 18 19 20 On April 3, 2026, plaintiff William Xavier Archibald III, proceeding pro se, initiated 21 this 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: June 12, 2026 □ 23 Jekut ¢ Howe Hon. Robert S. Huie United States District Judge 25 26 27 28