Source: s3://data.kl3m.ai/documents/govinfo/USCOURTS/USCOURTS-casd-3_11-cv-02348/USCOURTS-casd-3_11-cv-02348-0/pdf.json

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

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-1- 11cv2348 JLS (PCL)

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT

SOUTHERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA

LONNIE WILLIAMS, 

CDCR #T-54378,

Civil No. 11-2348 JLS (PCL)

Plaintiff,

ORDER DENYING MOTION TO

PROCEED IN FORMA PAUPERIS AND

DISMISSING CASE WITHOUT

PREJUDICE PURSUANT TO 

28 U.S.C. § 1915(a) 

[ECF No. 2]

 vs.

C. RAMOS, Correctional Sergeant;

J. EUSTICE, Correctional Officer;

M. LEE, Correctional Officer; T. GLOVER,

Correctional Lieutenant,

Defendants.

 

Plaintiff, currently incarcerated at the Richard J. Donovan Correctional Facility, in San Diego,

California, and proceeding pro se, has filed a civil rights complaint pursuant to 42 U.S.C. § 1983.

Plaintiff has not prepaid the $350 filing fee mandated by 28 U.S.C. § 1914(a); instead, he has filed a

Motion to Proceed In Forma Pauperis (“IFP”) pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 1915(a) [ECF No. 2].

I. MOTION TO PROCEED IFP

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 $350. See 28 U.S.C. § 1914(a).

An action may proceed despite a party’s failure to pay only if the party is granted leave to proceed in

Case 3:11-cv-02348-JLS-PCL Document 3 Filed 10/20/11 Page 1 of 3
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-2- 11cv2348 JLS (PCL)

forma pauperis (“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). “Under the PLRA

[Prison Litigation Reform Act], all prisoners who file IFP civil actions must pay the full amount of the

filing fee,” regardless of whether the action is ultimately dismissed for any reason. See Taylor v.

Delatoore, 281 F.3d 844, 847 (9th Cir. 2002) (citing 28 U.S.C. § 1915(b)(1) & (2)). 

In order to comply with the PLRA, prisoners seeking leave to proceed IFP must also submit a

“certified copy of the trust fund account statement (or institutional equivalent) for the prisoner for the

6-month period immediately preceding the filing of the complaint....” 28 U.S.C. § 1915(a)(2). From

the certified trust account statement, the Court assesses an initial payment of 20% of (a) the average

monthly deposits in the account for the past six months, or (b) the average monthly balance in the

account for the past six months, whichever is greater, unless the prisoner has no assets. See 28 U.S.C.

§ 1915(b)(1), (4); see Taylor, 281 F.3d at 850. Thereafter, the institution having custody of the prisoner

must collect subsequent payments, assessed at 20% of the preceding month’s income, in any month in

which the prisoner’s account exceeds $10, and forward those payments to the Court until the entire

filing fee is paid. See 28 U.S.C. § 1915(b)(2). 

While Plaintiff has filed a Motion to Proceed IFP pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 1915(a), he has not

attached a certified copy of his prison trust account statement for the 6-month period immediately

preceding the filing of his Complaint. See 28 U.S.C. § 1915(a)(2); S.D. CAL. CIVLR 3.2. Section

1915(a)(2) clearly mandates that prisoners “seeking to bring a civil action ...without prepayment of fees

... shall submit a certified copy of the trust fund account statement (or institutional equivalent) ... for the

6-month period immediately preceding the filing of the complaint.” 28 U.S.C. § 1915(a)(2) (emphasis

added). 

Without Plaintiff’s trust account statement, the Court is simply unable to assess the appropriate

amount of the filing fee which is statutorily required to initiate the prosecution of this action. See 28

U.S.C. § 1915(b)(1).

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-3- 11cv2348 JLS (PCL)

II. CONCLUSION AND ORDER

For the reasons set forth above, IT IS ORDERED that:

(1) Plaintiff’s Motion to Proceed IFP [ECF No. 2] is DENIED and the action is

DISMISSED without prejudice for failure to prepay the $350 filing fee mandated by 28 U.S.C. §

1914(a).

(2) Plaintiff is GRANTED an additional forty-five (45) days from the date of this Order to

either: (1) pay the entire $350 filing fee, or (2) file a new Motion to Proceed IFP, which includes a

certified copy of his trust account statement for the 6-month period preceding the filing of his Complaint

pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 1915(a)(2) and S.D. CAL. CIVLR 3.2(b). 

IT IS FURTHER ORDERED that the Clerk of the Court shall provide Plaintiff with a Courtapproved form “Motion and Declaration in Support of Motion to Proceed IFP” in this matter. If Plaintiff

neither pays the $350 filing fee in full nor sufficiently completes and files the attached Motion to

Proceed IFP, together with a certified copy of his trust account statement within 45 days, this action

shall remained closed without further Order of the Court.

DATED: October 20, 2011

Honorable Janis L. Sammartino

United States District Judge

Case 3:11-cv-02348-JLS-PCL Document 3 Filed 10/20/11 Page 3 of 3