Source: s3://data.kl3m.ai/documents/govinfo/USCOURTS/USCOURTS-casd-3_17-cv-00902/USCOURTS-casd-3_17-cv-00902-0/pdf.json

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

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UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT

SOUTHERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA

LEAONARD WALTERS, 

aka JAMES C. WALTERS,

CDCR #BC-6589,

Plaintiff,

vs.

SHERIFF; KNOWN DOCTOR; KNOWN 

MEDICAL STAFF; KNOWN SHERIFF 

DEPUTY,

Defendants.

Case No.: 3:17-cv-0902-GPC-JMA

ORDER DENYING MOTION TO 

PROCEED IN FORMA PAUPERIS 

PURSUANT TO 28 U.S.C. § 1915(a) 

AND DISMISSING CIVIL ACTION 

WITHOUT PREJUDICE FOR 

FAILING TO PREPAY FILING 

FEES REQUIRED BY

28 U.S.C. § 1914(a) 

[ECF No. 2]

Leonard Walters, also known as James C. Walters, (“Plaintiff”), currently housed 

at the California Institution for Men, and proceeding pro se, has filed a civil rights 

complaint pursuant to 42 U.S.C. § 1983 (ECF No. 1). Plaintiff has not prepaid the civil 

filing fee required 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).

/ / /

/ / /

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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 

$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 Rodriguez v. Cook, 169 F.3d 1176, 1177 (9th Cir. 1999). However, if the 

plaintiff is a prisoner at the time of filing, he may be granted leave to proceed IFP, but he 

nevertheless remains obligated to pay the entire fee in “increments,” see Williams v. 

Paramo, 775 F.3d 1182, 1185 (9th Cir. 2015), regardless of whether his action is 

ultimately dismissed. See 28 U.S.C. § 1915(b)(1) & (2); Taylor v. Delatoore, 281 F.3d 

844, 847 (9th Cir. 2002). A “prisoner” is defined as “any person” who at the time of 

filing is “incarcerated or detained in any facility who is accused of, convicted of, 

sentenced for, or adjudicated delinquent for, violations of criminal law or the terms or 

conditions of parole, probation, pretrial release, or diversionary program.” 28 U.S.C. 

§ 1915(h); Taylor, 281 F.3d at 847.

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

also submit a “certified copy of the[ir] 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). 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 collects subsequent payments, assessed at 20% of the preceding month’s 

 

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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. June 1, 2016). The additional $50 administrative fee does 

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

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income, in any month in which the prisoner’s account exceeds $10, and forwards them 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 filed only a prison certificate from the San Diego Central Jail where he is no longer 

housed and was not housed at the time of filing. Plaintiff has been housed at the 

California Institution for Men (“CIM”) since March 30, 20171and Plaintiff’s Complaint 

was deemed “filed” as of April 21, 2017. (See Compl. at 9.) Plaintiff must provide a 

certified copy of his inmate trust account from the institution where he is currently 

housed. See 28 U.S.C. § 1915(a)(2); S.D. CAL. CIVLR 3.2. Section 1915(a)(2) clearly 

requires 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). If Plaintiff has not been in custody 

for a full 6-months prior to filing, he must submit copies of his trust account statements 

for the entire period during which he was first detained, up to the time of filing, and/or a 

prison certificate signed by CIM officials attesting as to his recent trust account activities

and current balance.

Without Plaintiff’s trust account statement, or CIM’s functional equivalent, the 

Court is simply unable to assess the appropriate amount of the initial filing fee which is 

statutorily required to initiate the prosecution of this action. See 28 U.S.C. § 1915(b)(1).

II. Conclusion and Order

For these reasons, 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 $400 filing fee required by 28 

U.S.C. § 1914(a).

 

1

 See CDCR Inmate locater http://inmatelocator.cdcr.ca.gov/Results.aspx (website last visited May 8, 

2017.)

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

which to re-open his case by either: (1) paying the entire $400 statutory and 

administrative filing fee, or (2) filing 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).

(3) The Clerk of the Court is DIRECTED to provide Plaintiff with a Courtapproved form “Motion and Declaration in Support of Motion to Proceed IFP” in this 

matter. If Plaintiff neither pays the $400 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 will remained dismissed without prejudice 

pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 1914(a), and without further Order of the Court.2

IT IS SO ORDERED.

Dated: May 11, 2017

 

2 Plaintiff is cautioned that if he chooses to proceed further by either prepaying the full 

$400 civil filing fee, or submitting a properly supported Motion to Proceed IFP, his 

Complaint will be reviewed before service and may be dismissed pursuant to 28 U.S.C. 

§ 1915A(b) and/or 28 U.S.C. § 1915(e)(2)(B), regardless of whether he pays or is obligated 

to pay filing fees. See Lopez v. Smith, 203 F.3d 1122, 1126-27 (9th Cir. 2000) (en banc) 

(noting that 28 U.S.C. § 1915(e) “not only permits but requires” the court to sua sponte 

dismiss an in forma pauperis complaint that is frivolous, malicious, fails to state a claim, 

or seeks damages from defendants who are immune); see also Rhodes v. Robinson, 621 

F.3d 1002, 1004 (9th Cir. 2010) (discussing similar screening required by 28 U.S.C. 

§ 1915A of all complaints filed by prisoners “seeking redress from a governmental entity 

or officer or employee of a governmental entity.”).

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