Turner Jr. v. Chase Bank
- Proceeding
- district
- Area
- civil
- Panel
- Janis L. Sammartino (author)
Analysis
The court considered a pro se complaint filed without the required filing fee or a motion to proceed in forma pauperis. The court dismissed the action without prejudice and granted the plaintiff 30 days to pay the fee or file a proper IFP motion to reopen the case.
| What the court decided | The model |
|---|---|
Dismissal of the action without prejudice for failure to pay the filing fee and failure to move for IFP status“DISMISSES this action WITHOUT PREJUDICE based on Plaintiff's failure to pay the $405 civil filing and administrative fee required by 28 U.S.C. § 1914(a), and his failure to properly 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 cannot proceed unless the filing fee is paid or the plaintiff is granted IFP status under 28 U.S.C. § 1915(a). The order recites that the plaintiff did neither. Dismissing without prejudice, rather than with prejudice, is the standard remedy to allow the plaintiff to cure the defect, which the court explicitly facilitates by granting a 30-day window to pay or file an IFP application. |
Granting of a 30-day period to pay the fee or file an IFP motion to reopen the case“GRANTS Plaintiff thirty (30) days from the date of this Order to re-open his case by: (a) paying the entire $405 statutory and administrative fee filing fee; or completing and filing an Application to Proceed in District Court Without Prepaying Fees or Costs” | agree with court This is a standard procedural mechanism used by the Southern District of California to handle pro se filings that lack fees. It balances the statutory requirement for fees with the practical reality of pro se litigants who may need time to gather funds or complete the IFP paperwork. The order clearly states the consequences of failing to act within the deadline. |
The order itself: sound — The order is procedurally sound. It correctly identifies the statutory basis for the dismissal (failure to pay fees or obtain IFP status) and cites appropriate Ninth Circuit precedent (Andrews v. Cervantes) to support the proposition that the action cannot proceed without these prerequisites. The remedy (dismissal without prejudice with a deadline to cure) is standard and appropriate for this type of procedural deficiency.
Opinion
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT 9 SOUTHERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA 10 11 DAVID B. TURNER, JR., Case No.: 24-CV-455 JLS (AHG)
12 Plaintiff, ORDER DISMISSING ACTION 13 v. WITHOUT PREJUDICE FOR FAILURE TO PAY FILING FEE 14 CHASE BANK, REQUIRED BY 28 U.S.C. § 1914(a) 15 Defendant. (ECF No. 1) 16 17 Presently before the Court is Plaintiff David B. Turner, Jr.’s Complaint (“Compl.,” 18 ECF No. 1). Plaintiff, who is proceeding pro se, claims he was injured by one of Defendant 19 Chase Bank’s employees. See Compl. Plaintiff seeks $17,000,000 in damages. See id. 20 All parties instituting any civil action, suit, or proceeding in a district court of the 21 United States, except an application for writ of habeas corpus, must pay a filing fee of 22 $405. See 28 U.S.C. § 1914(a). The action may proceed despite a plaintiff’s failure to 23 prepay the entire fee only if he is granted leave to proceed in forma pauperis (“IFP”) 24 pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 1915(a)(1). See Andrews v. Cervantes, 493 F.3d 1047, 1051 25 (9th Cir. 2007); Rodriguez v. Cook, 169 F.3d 1176, 1177 (9th Cir. 1999). 26 Plaintiff has not prepaid the fees required to commence this civil action, nor has he 27 submitted a properly supported motion to proceed IFP. As a result, his case cannot yet 28 proceed. See 28 U.S.C. § 1914(a); Andrews, 493 F.3d at 1051. 1 In light of the foregoing, the Court: 2 (1) DISMISSES this action WITHOUT PREJUDICE based on Plaintiff's 3 || failure to pay the $405 civil filing and administrative fee required by 28 U.S.C. § 1914(a), 4 ||and his failure to properly move to proceed IFP pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 1915(a); and 5 (2) GRANTS Plaintiff thirty (30) days from the date of this Order to re-open his 6 ||case by: (a) paying the entire $405 statutory and administrative fee filing fee; or 7 completing and filing an Application to Proceed in District Court Without Prepaying 8 ||Fees or Costs, which is available online at https://www.casd.uscourts.gov/_assets/pdf/ 9 || forms/AO239_Application% 20to% 20Proceed% 20 Without% 20Prepayment.pdf. Should 10 || Plaintiff fail to either pay the filing fee or file a motion to proceed IFP, this civil action 11 || will remain dismissed without prejudice pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 1914(a), and without 12 || further order of the Court. 13 IT IS SO ORDERED. 14 ||Dated: March 13, 2024 psi L. Lo meeaitie- 15 on. Janis L. Sammartino 6 United States District Judge 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28