Source: s3://data.kl3m.ai/documents/govinfo/USCOURTS/USCOURTS-casd-3_16-cv-03013/USCOURTS-casd-3_16-cv-03013-0/pdf.json

Nature of Suit Code: 550
Nature of Suit: Prisoner - Civil Rights (U.S. defendant)
Cause of Action: 42:1983pr Prisoner Civil Rights

---

1

3:16-cv-03013-WQH-JMA

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

10

11

12

13

14

15

16

17

18

19

20

21

22

23

24

25

26

27

28

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT

SOUTHERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA

GREGORY KONRATH,

Inmate #254068,

Plaintiff,

vs.

LOMA LINDA UNIVERSITY 

MEDICAL CENTER,

Defendant.

Case No.: 3:16-cv-03013-WQH-JMA

ORDER DISMISSING CIVIL 

ACTION:

1) FOR FAILING TO PAY 

FILING FEE REQUIRED 

BY 28 U.S.C. § 1914(a) AND/OR 

FAILING TO MOVE TO PROCEED 

IN FORMA PAUPERIS 

PURSUANT TO 

28 U.S.C. § 1915(a) 

AND

2) FOR LACK OF PROPER VENUE 

PURSUANT TO 28 U.S.C. § 1391(b) 

AND § 1406(a)

Plaintiff, a prisoner currently incarcerated at Westville Correctional Facility in 

Westville, Indiana, and proceeding pro se, has filed a civil rights complaint pursuant to 

42 U.S.C. § 1983 (ECF No. 1). Plaintiff seeks to sue the Loma Linda University Medical 

Center, in Loma Linda, California, for discriminating against him and failing to 

accommodate his “Type II bi-polar disorder” while he was employed as an orthopedic 

Case 3:16-cv-03013-WQH-JMA Document 2 Filed 05/03/17 PageID.<pageID> Page 1 of 3
2

3:16-cv-03013-WQH-JMA

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

10

11

12

13

14

15

16

17

18

19

20

21

22

23

24

25

26

27

28

surgeon there almost twenty years ago, in July 1998. (ECF No. 1 at 1-3).

I. Failure to Pay Filing Fee or Request In Forma Pauperis (“IFP”) Status

All parties instituting any civil action, suit or proceeding in a district court of the 

United States, except an application for writ of habeas corpus, must pay a filing fee of 

$400. See 28 U.S.C. § 1914(a).1 An action may proceed despite a plaintiff’s failure to 

prepay the entire fee only if he is granted leave to proceed IFP pursuant to 28 U.S.C. 

§ 1915(a). See Andrews v. Cervantes, 493 F.3d 1047, 1051 (9th Cir. 2007); Rodriguez v. 

Cook, 169 F.3d 1176, 1177 (9th Cir. 1999). However, as Plaintiff is a prisoner in this 

case, even if he is granted leave to commence his suit IFP, he will remain obligated to 

pay the entire filing fee in “increments[,]” see Williams v. Paramo, 775 F.3d 1182, 1185 

(9th Cir. 2015), regardless of whether his case is ultimately dismissed. See 28 U.S.C. 

§ 1915(b)(1) & (2); Taylor v. Delatoore, 281 F.3d 844, 847 (9th Cir. 2002).

Plaintiff has not prepaid the $400 in filing and administrative fees required to 

commence this civil action and he has not filed a Motion to Proceed IFP which complies 

with 28 U.S.C. § 1915(a)(1) and (2). Therefore, his case cannot yet proceed. See 28 

U.S.C. § 1914(a); Andrews, 493 F.3d at 1051.

II. Venue

Venue may be raised by a court sua sponte where the defendant has not yet filed a 

responsive pleading and the time for doing so has not run. Costlow v. Weeks, 790 F.2d 

1486, 1488 (9th Cir. 1986). Section 1391(b) of Title 28 of the U.S. Code provides, in 

pertinent part, that a “civil action may be brought in – (1) a judicial district in which any 

defendant resides, if all defendants are residents of the State in which the district is 

located; [or] (2) a judicial district in which a substantial part of the events or omissions 

giving rise to the claim occurred, or a substantial part of property that is the subject of the 

 

1

In addition to the $350 statutory fee, civil litigants must pay an additional administrative 

fee of $50. See 28 U.S.C. § 1914(a) (Judicial Conference Schedule of Fees, District Court 

Misc. Fee Schedule, § 14 (eff. Dec. 1, 2014). The additional $50 administrative fee does 

not apply to persons granted leave to proceed IFP. Id.

Case 3:16-cv-03013-WQH-JMA Document 2 Filed 05/03/17 PageID.<pageID> Page 2 of 3
3

3:16-cv-03013-WQH-JMA

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

10

11

12

13

14

15

16

17

18

19

20

21

22

23

24

25

26

27

28

action is situated[.]” 28 U.S.C. § 1391(b); Costlow, 790 F.2d at 1488; Decker Coal Co. v. 

Commonwealth Edison Co., 805 F.2d 834, 842 (9th Cir. 1986). “The district court of a 

district in which is filed a case laying venue in the wrong division or district shall 

dismiss, or if it be in the interests of justice, transfer such case to any district or division 

in which it could have been brought.” 28 U.S.C. § 1406(a).

While the Court would normally grant Plaintiff an opportunity to either pay the full 

filing fee or file a Motion to Proceed IFP, an initial review of his Complaint further 

reveals that he has filed his case in the wrong district. Plaintiff is currently incarcerated in 

Indiana, and he seeks to sue the Loma Linda University Medical based on incidents that 

took place there. (ECF No. 1 at 1).

The City of Loma Linda is located in the County of San Bernardino, California, 

and it is within the Central District of California, Eastern Division. See 28 U.S.C. 

§ 84(c)(1). See also 28 U.S.C. § 84(d) (“The Southern District [of California] comprises 

the counties of Imperial and San Diego.”); 28 U.S.C. § 1391(b); Costlow, 790 F.2d at 

1488. Because no claim is alleged to have arisen in, and no Defendant is alleged to reside 

in either San Diego or Imperial County, the Court finds dismissal of the action without 

prejudice based on lack of proper venue is also appropriate. See 28 U.S.C. § 1406(a).

III. Conclusion and Order

Accordingly, the Court DISMISSES this action sua sponte without prejudice 

based on Plaintiff’s failure to pay the $400 filing fee required by 28 U.S.C. § 1914(a), his 

failure to file a Motion to Proceed IFP pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 1915(a), and for lack of 

proper venue pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 1391(b) and § 1406(a).

IT IS SO ORDERED.

Dated: May 3, 2017

Case 3:16-cv-03013-WQH-JMA Document 2 Filed 05/03/17 PageID.<pageID> Page 3 of 3