Lake v. Jorrin
- Proceeding
- district
- Area
- civil
- Panel
- Dana M. Sabraw (author)
Analysis
The court considered a pro se prisoner's motion to proceed in forma pauperis (IFP) and his civil rights complaint. The court denied the IFP motion and dismissed the action without prejudice because the plaintiff failed to submit the required certified prison trust account statement.
| What the court decided | The model |
|---|---|
Motion to Proceed In Forma Pauperis Denied“Plaintiff’s motion to proceed IFP is DENIED and this action is DISMISSED 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 The court correctly applied 28 U.S.C. § 1915(a)(2), which mandates that a prisoner 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 application lacked this document. Citing *Andrews v. King*, the court noted that without these records, the court cannot assess the required initial payment or determine indigency. Therefore, the denial is legally sound based on the statutory requirements and the cited precedent. |
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 IFP status is granted. Since the IFP motion was properly denied due to the missing trust account statement, the court lacked jurisdiction to proceed with the case. Dismissing without prejudice is the standard procedural remedy to allow the plaintiff to cure the deficiency (by paying the fee or filing a proper IFP motion) within a set timeframe, which the court granted (45 days). |
The order itself: sound — The order is procedurally correct and relies on the appropriate statutory provisions and binding Ninth Circuit precedent (*Andrews v. King*) to support the denial of the IFP motion due to the missing trust account statement. The dismissal without prejudice and the grant of leave to cure are standard and appropriate remedies in this context. The reasoning is concise but fully addresses the legal requirements for IFP status for prisoners.
Opinion
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT 9 SOUTHERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA 10 11 DARIUS DEMON LAKE, Case No.: 23cv1293-DMS (KSC)
12 Plaintiff, ORDER DENYING MOTION TO 13 v. PROCEED IN FORMA PAUPERIS AND DISMISSING CIVIL ACTION 14 A. JORRIN, 15 Defendant. 16 17 Darius Demon Lake (“Plaintiff”), a state prisoner proceeding pro se, has filed a civil 18 rights Complaint accompanied by a motion to proceed in forma pauperis (“IFP”). (ECF 19 Nos. 1-2.) 20 I. Motion to Proceed IFP 21 All parties instituting any civil action, suit or proceeding in a district court of the 22 United States, except an application for writ of habeas corpus, must pay a filing fee of 23 $402.1 See 28 U.S.C. § 1914(a). The action may proceed despite a failure to prepay the 24 entire fee only if leave to proceed IFP is granted pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 1915(a). See 25 26 27 1 In addition to a $350 fee, civil litigants, other than those granted leave to proceed IFP, must pay an additional administrative fee of $52. See 28 U.S.C. § 1914(a) (Judicial 28 1 Andrews v. Cervantes, 493 F.3d 1047, 1051 (9th Cir. 2007). Section 1915(a)(2) also 2 requires prisoners seeking leave to proceed IFP to submit a “certified copy of the trust fund 3 account statement (or institutional equivalent) for . . . the 6-month period immediately 4 preceding the filing of the complaint.” 28 U.S.C. § 1915(a)(2); Andrews v. King, 398 F.3d 5 1113, 1119 (9th Cir. 2005). From the certified trust account statement, the Court assesses 6 an initial payment of 20% of (a) the average monthly deposits in the account for the past 7 six months, or (b) the average monthly balance in the account for the past six months, 8 whichever is greater, unless the prisoner has no assets. See 28 U.S.C. § 1915(b)(1) & (4). 9 The institution collects subsequent payments, assessed at 20% of the preceding month’s 10 income, in any month in which the account exceeds $10, and forwards those payments to 11 the Court until the entire filing fee is paid. See 28 U.S.C. § 1915(b)(2). The plaintiff 12 remains obligated to pay the entire fee in monthly installments regardless of whether their 13 action is ultimately dismissed. Bruce v. Samuels, 577 U.S. 82, 84 (2016). 14 Plaintiff’s IFP application does not contain the required trust fund account statement. 15 (See ECF No. 2.) The Court cannot grant his IFP application without the trust fund account 16 statement for the 6-month period immediately preceding the filing of his Complaint. See 17 Andrews, 398 F.3d at 1119 (“prisoners must demonstrate that they are not able to pay the 18 filing fee with an affidavit and submission of their prison trust account records.”), citing 19 28 U.S.C. § 1915(a)(1)–(2). Plaintiff’s motion to proceed IFP is DENIED and this action 20 is DISMISSED without prejudice based on Plaintiff’s failure to pay the civil filing and 21 administrative fee or to submit a properly supported motion to proceed IFP pursuant to 28 22 U.S.C. §§ 1914(a) & 1915(a). 23 II. Conclusion and Order 24 Accordingly, the Court: 25 (1) DENIES Plaintiff’s motion to proceed IFP without prejudice. 26 (2) DISMISSES this civil action without prejudice based on Plaintiff’s failure to 27 pay the civil filing and administrative fee or to submit a properly supported motion to 28 proceed IFP pursuant to 28 U.S.C. §§ 1914(a) & 1915(a). 1 (3) GRANTS Plaintiff forty-five (45) days leave from the date this Order is filed 2 || to: (a) prepay the entire $402 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 || See 28 U.S.C. § 1915(a)(2); S.D. Cal. Civ. R. 3.2(b). If Plaintiff fails to either pay the $402 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 1] Dated: August 1, 2023 \ J \ 12 : Hon. Dana M. Sabraw, Chief Judge 13 United States District Court 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28