Source: s3://data.kl3m.ai/documents/govinfo/USCOURTS/USCOURTS-cand-3_14-cv-00525/USCOURTS-cand-3_14-cv-00525-7/pdf.json

Nature of Suit Code: 555
Nature of Suit: Prisoner - Prison Condition
Cause of Action: 42:1983 Prisoner Civil Rights

---

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

Northern District of California

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT

NORTHERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA

FILBERTO TORRES,

Plaintiff,

v.

M. J. CHUDY, et al.,

Defendants.

Case No. 14-cv-00525-SI 

ORDER RE. FILING FEE

Re: Dkt. No. 36

On July 29, 2015, the court granted plaintiff’s request for voluntary dismissal and 

dismissed this action. See Dkt. No. 34. Plaintiff has filed a motion for the court to order his 

prison to (a) discontinue deducting funds from his inmate trust account to satisfy his filing fee 

obligation, and (b) return to him those funds deducted since the July 29, 2015 dismissal of this 

action. Dkt. No. 36. Plaintiff is not entitled to the requested relief. 

A filing fee is owed by a plaintiff when he commences an action by filing a complaint. See

28 U.S.C. § 1914 (“The clerk of each district court shall require the parties instituting any civil 

action, suit or proceeding in such court . . . to pay a filing fee of $350.”) A prisoner-plaintiff may 

apply to proceed in forma pauperis if he is unable to pay the filing fee. If a prisoner-plaintiff is 

allowed to proceed in forma pauperis, “the prisoner shall be required to pay the full amount of a 

filing fee.” 28 U.S.C. § 1915(b)(1). The only difference between non-pauper status and in forma 

pauperis status for a prisoner is that the latter does not require the payment of the full amount of 

the filing fee at the time the complaint is filed, and instead the fee is paid in installments by 

withdrawals from his inmate trust account pursuant to the schedule in § 1915(b)(1) and (2). The 

filing fee obligation that is incurred upon the filing of a complaint does not disappear due to later 

events. Thus, it does not matter that a plaintiff loses his case or chooses to dismiss it -- he remains 

Case 3:14-cv-00525-SI Document 37 Filed 10/15/15 Page 1 of 2
2

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

Northern District of California

obligated for the filing fee. The court cannot ignore the clear command of § 1915(b) and relieve 

plaintiff of his filing fee obligation. Cf. United States v. MacCollom, 426 U.S. 317, 321 (1976) 

(“The established rule is that the expenditure of public funds is proper only when authorized by 

Congress, not that public funds may be expended unless prohibited by Congress”).

Plaintiff remains obligated for the filing fee until the full amount of the filing fee is paid to 

the court. Prison officials may continue to deduct funds from his inmate trust account to satisfy 

his fee obligation in this case. Plaintiff’s motion for an order to discontinue the deductions and 

refund some deductions already made is DENIED. Dkt. No. 36. 

IT IS SO ORDERED.

Dated: October 15, 2015

______________________________________

SUSAN ILLSTON

United States District Judge

Case 3:14-cv-00525-SI Document 37 Filed 10/15/15 Page 2 of 2