Highbaugh v. Petry

District Court, S.D. California · 3:24-cv-00219 · 2024-02-06 · Unknown

Proceeding: district
Area: civil
Panel: Michael M. Anello (author)

Analysis

A model's reading — qwen3.8-27b, prompt own-v1, 2026-10-13T21:40Z · confidence high

The court reviewed a pro se detainee's motion to proceed in forma pauperis (IFP) and found it deficient because the plaintiff failed to submit the required certified trust account statement. The court denied the IFP motion and dismissed the civil action without prejudice, granting the plaintiff 45 days to cure the deficiency by paying the fee or filing a proper motion.

What the court decided	The model
Motion to Proceed In Forma Pauperis (IFP) denied “Plaintiff's Motion to Proceed IFP (Doc. No. 2) is DENIED”	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 failed to provide this document. Without this statutory prerequisite, the court cannot assess the initial partial filing fee required by 28 U.S.C. § 1915(b)(1). Therefore, the denial is procedurally required.
Civil action dismissed without prejudice “the action is DISMISSED without prejudice for failure to prepay the $405 civil filing fee required by U.S.C. §§ 1914(a)”	agree with court Under 28 U.S.C. § 1914(a), a civil action cannot be maintained unless the filing fee is paid or the plaintiff is granted IFP status. Since the IFP motion was denied for lack of required documentation, the court lacked jurisdiction to proceed with the case. Dismissal without prejudice is the standard remedy to allow the plaintiff to cure the defect, consistent with Ninth Circuit precedent (e.g., Andrews v. Cervantes).

What the court decided

The model

Motion to Proceed In Forma Pauperis (IFP) denied

“Plaintiff's Motion to Proceed IFP (Doc. No. 2) is DENIED”

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 failed to provide this document. Without this statutory prerequisite, the court cannot assess the initial partial filing fee required by 28 U.S.C. § 1915(b)(1). Therefore, the denial is procedurally required.

Civil action dismissed without prejudice

“the action is DISMISSED without prejudice for failure to prepay the $405 civil filing fee required by U.S.C. §§ 1914(a)”

agree with court
Under 28 U.S.C. § 1914(a), a civil action cannot be maintained unless the filing fee is paid or the plaintiff is granted IFP status. Since the IFP motion was denied for lack of required documentation, the court lacked jurisdiction to proceed with the case. Dismissal without prejudice is the standard remedy to allow the plaintiff to cure the defect, consistent with Ninth Circuit precedent (e.g., Andrews v. Cervantes).

The order itself: sound — The order is procedurally sound. It correctly identifies the specific statutory deficiency (missing certified trust account statement) that prevents the court from granting IFP status. The citation to Ninth Circuit precedent (Andrews v. Cervantes) and the PLRA statutes is accurate. The remedy (dismissal without prejudice with a specific deadline to cure) is standard and appropriate for a pro se detainee who has not yet had the opportunity to comply with the specific documentation requirements of § 1915(a)(2).

How this analysis was made · dispute it

Opinion

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT 9 SOUTHERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA 10 11 JACQUELINE HIGHBAUGH, Case No.: 24-cv-0219-MMA (KSC) Booking No. 23736394, 12 ORDER DENYING MOTION TO Plaintiff, 13 PROCEED IN FORMA PAUPERIS vs. AND DISMISSING CIVIL 14 ACTION WITHOUT PREJUDICE JESSICA PETRY, STATE OF 15 CALIFORNIA, JUDGE EUGENIA [Doc. No. 2] 16 EYHERABIDE, et al., 17 Defendants. 18 19 20 Jacqueline Highbaugh (“Plaintiff”), a detainee proceeding pro se, has filed a civil 21 rights complaint pursuant to 42 U.S.C. § 1983. Doc. No. 1. In lieu of paying the filing 22 fee required by 28 U.S.C. § 1914(a), Plaintiff filed a Motion to Proceed In Forma 23 Pauperis (“IFP”) pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 1915(a). Doc. No. 2. 24 I. IFP Motion 25 All parties instituting any civil action, suit or proceeding in a district court of the 26 United States, except an application for writ of habeas corpus, must pay a filing fee of 27 $405. See 28 U.S.C. § 1914(a). The action may proceed despite a plaintiff’s failure to 28 prepay the entire fee only if he is granted leave to proceed IFP pursuant to 28 U.S.C. 1 § 1915(a). See Andrews v. Cervantes, 493 F.3d 1047, 1051 (9th Cir. 2007); Rodriguez v. 2 Cook, 169 F.3d 1176, 1177 (9th Cir. 1999). However, all prisoners who proceed IFP 3 must pay the entire fee in “increments” or “installments,” Bruce v. Samuels, 577 U.S. 82, 4 83–84 (2016), and regardless of whether their action is ultimately dismissed. See 28 5 U.S.C. § 1915(b)(1) & (2); Taylor v. Delatoore, 281 F.3d 844, 847 (9th Cir. 2002). 6 Section 1915(a)(2) requires all persons seeking to proceed without full prepayment 7 of fees to file an affidavit that includes a statement of all assets possessed and 8 demonstrates an inability to pay. See Escobedo v. Applebees, 787 F.3d 1226, 1234 (9th 9 Cir. 2015). In support of this affidavit, the PLRA also requires prisoners to submit a 10 “certified copy of the trust fund account statement (or institutional equivalent) for . . . the 11 6-month period immediately preceding the filing of the complaint.” 28 U.S.C. 12 § 1915(a)(2); Andrews v. King, 398 F.3d 1113, 1119 (9th Cir. 2005). From the certified 13 trust account statement, the Court assesses an initial payment of 20% of (a) the average 14 monthly deposits in the account for the past six months, or (b) the average monthly 15 balance in the account for the past six months, whichever is greater, unless the prisoner 16 has no assets. See 28 U.S.C. § 1915(b)(1); 28 U.S.C. § 1915(b)(4). The institution 17 having custody of the prisoner then collects subsequent payments, assessed at 20% of the 18 preceding month’s income, in any month in which her account exceeds $10, and forwards 19 those payments to the Court until the entire filing fee is paid. See 28 U.S.C. 20 § 1915(b)(2); Bruce, 577 U.S. at 84. 21 Although Plaintiff has filed a Motion to Proceed IFP, she has not submitted a 22 certified trust account statement “for the 6-month period immediately preceding the filing 23 of the complaint.” 28 U.S.C. § 1915(a)(2). Because Plaintiff has neither paid the filing 24 fee required by 28 U.S.C. § 1914(a) to commence a civil action, nor filed a properly 25 supported Motion to Proceed IFP pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 1915(a), her case cannot yet 26 proceed. See 28 U.S.C. § 1914(a); Andrews, 493 F.3d at 1051. 27 / / / 28 / / / 1 II. Conclusion and Order 2 || For this reason, IT IS ORDERED that: 3 (1) Plaintiff's Motion to Proceed IFP (Doc. No. 2) is DENIED and the action is 4 || DISMISSED without prejudice for failure to prepay the $405 civil filing fee required by 5 U.S.C. §§ 1914(a); 6 (2) Plaintiffis GRANTED forty-five (45) days from the date this Order in 7 || which to re-open her case by either: (a) prepaying the entire $405 civil filing and 8 administrative fee in one lump-sum; or (b) filing a renewed Motion to Proceed IFP, 9 || which includes a prison certificate, signed by a trust accounting official attesting as to 10 || her trust account balances and deposits and/or a certified copy of her Inmate 11 || Statement Report for the 6-month period preceding the filing of her Complaint 12 || pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 1915(a)(2) and S.D. Cal. CivLR 3.2(b); and 13 (3) The Clerk of the Court is DIRECTED to provide Plaintiff with a Court- 14 || approved form “Motion and Declaration in Support of Motion to Proceed /n Forma 15 || Pauperis.” 16 IT IS SO ORDERED. 17 || Dated: February 6, 2024 18 . i 20 United States District Judge 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28