Burgess v. Shakiba
- Proceeding
- district
- Area
- civil
- Panel
- Jinsook Ohta (author)
Analysis
The court reviewed a pro se prisoner's motion to proceed in forma pauperis (IFP) and found that the plaintiff's prison trust account balance demonstrated an ability to pay the filing fee. The court denied the motion to proceed IFP and dismissed the civil action without prejudice, granting the plaintiff 30 days to pay the fee.
| What the court decided | The model |
|---|---|
Denial of Motion to Proceed In Forma Pauperis“Plaintiff has not shown the indigence required to proceed IFP. Therefore, because Plaintiff is able to pay the filing fee in total, Plaintiff’s Motion to Proceed IFP is DENIED.” | agree with court The court correctly applied the requirement of 28 U.S.C. § 1915(a)(2) that a prisoner must submit a certified copy of their trust fund account statement. The order recites that the plaintiff's average monthly balance was over $3,000, which objectively demonstrates the ability to pay the $402 filing fee. The denial is supported by the record cited in the order. |
Dismissal of Civil Action for Failure to Pay Filing Fee“DISMISSES this action without prejudice for failure to pay the full statutory and administrative $402 civil filing fee required by 28 U.S.C. § 1914(a);” | agree with court Under 28 U.S.C. § 1915(a)(2), if a prisoner is not granted IFP status, the action must be dismissed if the filing fee is not paid. The court provided a 30-day window to pay, which is a standard procedural accommodation in this district. The dismissal without prejudice is the correct procedural outcome when IFP is denied and the fee is not immediately tendered. |
The order itself: sound — The order is procedurally and substantively sound. It correctly identifies the statutory requirements for IFP status for prisoners, cites the necessary account documentation, and applies the financial data (average balance of ~$3,160) to conclude that the plaintiff is not indigent. The dismissal without prejudice and the 30-day grace period are consistent with local rules and federal practice for pro se prisoner litigation.
Opinion
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT 9 SOUTHERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA 10 11 GARY BURGESS, Case No.: 3:22-cv-00750-JO-JLB CDCR #E-83728, 12 ORDER: Plaintiff, 13 vs. 1) DENYING MOTION TO 14 PROCEED IN FORMA PAUPERIS 15 [ECF No. 2] SHAKIBA, et al., 16 Defendants. 2) DISMISSING CIVIL ACTION 17 FOR FAILURE TO PAY THE FILING FEE REQUIRED BY 28 18 U.S.C. § 1914(a) 19 20 21 22 23 Plaintiff Gary Burgess (“Plaintiff” or “Burgess”) is currently incarcerated at the 24 Richard J. Donovan State Prison (“RJD”) located in San Diego, California. Proceeding pro 25 se, he has filed a civil rights complaint pursuant to 42 U.S.C. § 1983 and requested to 26 proceed in forma pauperis (“IFP”) pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 1915(a). ECF Nos. 1, 2. For the 27 reasons set forth below, the Court denies the request. 28 / / / 1 I. Request to Proceed In Forma Pauperis 2 Plaintiff has not prepaid the civil filing fee and requested instead to proceed in forma 3 pauperis, claiming an inability to pay. All parties instituting any civil action, suit or 4 proceeding in a district court of the United States, except an application for writ of habeas 5 corpus, must pay a filing fee of $402.1 See 28 U.S.C. § 1914(a). The action may proceed 6 despite a plaintiff’s failure to prepay the entire fee only if he is granted leave to proceed 7 IFP pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 1915(a). See Andrews v. Cervantes, 493 F.3d 1047, 1051 (9th 8 Cir. 2007); Rodriguez v. Cook, 169 F.3d 1176, 1177 (9th Cir. 1999). Section 1915(a)(2) 9 requires prisoners seeking leave to proceed IFP to submit a “certified copy of the trust fund 10 account statement (or institutional equivalent) for ... the 6-month period immediately 11 preceding the filing of the complaint.” 28 U.S.C. § 1915(a)(2); Andrews v. King, 398 F.3d 12 1113, 1119 (9th Cir. 2005). 13 In support of his request to proceed IFP, Plaintiff has submitted a prison certificate 14 authorized by an RJD accounting official and a copy of his CDCR Inmate Statement 15 Report. See ECF No. 3; 28 U.S.C. § 1915(a)(2); S.D. Cal. CivLR 3.2; Andrews, 398 F.3d 16 at 1119. These documents show that for the preceding six months, Plaintiff carried an 17 average monthly balance of $3,159.93 and average monthly deposits of $57.88. See ECF 18 No. 3. The balance in Plaintiff’s trust account as of May 25, 2022 was $2,370.71. Id. at 1, 19 3. Plaintiff has not shown the indigence required to proceed IFP. Therefore, because 20 Plaintiff is able to pay the filing fee in total, Plaintiff’s Motion to Proceed IFP is DENIED. 21 / / / 22 / / / 23 / / / 24 25 1 For civil cases filed after December 1, 2020, the civil litigant bringing suit must pay the 26 $350 statutory fee in addition to a $52 administrative fee. See 28 U.S.C. § 1914(a) (Judicial 27 Conference Schedule of Fees, District Court Misc. Fee Schedule, § 14 (eff. Dec. 1, 2020)). The $52 administrative fee does not apply to persons granted leave to proceed IFP, 28 1 Conclusion and Order 2 1) DENIES Plaintiff's Motion to Proceed IFP (ECF No. 2); 3 2) DISMISSES this action without prejudice for failure to pay the full statutory 4 ||and administrative $402 civil filing fee required by 28 U.S.C. § 1914(a); 5 3) Plaintiffis granted thirty (30) days leave from the date this Order is “Filed” 6 which to pay the $402 initial civil filing fee. 7 IT IS SO ORDERED. 8 9 Dated: June 3, 2022 10 Hon 1 Uni tates District Court 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 3