Source: s3://data.kl3m.ai/documents/govinfo/USCOURTS/USCOURTS-casd-3_18-cv-02174/USCOURTS-casd-3_18-cv-02174-0/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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3:18-cv-02174 MMA (NLS) 

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UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT 

SOUTHERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA 

JORGE ANTONIO PEREZ, 

Booking No. 18152912 

Plaintiff,

v. 

ANGEL NUNEZ; DOMINIQUE 

VASQUEZ; THE CALIFORNIA 

CORRECTIONAL PAROLE AND 

PROBATION OFFICERS 

ASSOCIATION, 

Defendants.

 Case No.: 3:18-cv-02174 MMA (NLS) 

ORDER DENYING MOTION TO 

PROCEED IN FORMA PAUPERIS 

AND DISMISSING ACTION 

WITHOUT PREJUDICE 

 Plaintiff Jorge Antonio Perez, currently housed at the San Diego Central Jail 

located in San Diego, California, and proceeding pro se, has filed a civil rights complaint 

(“Compl.”) pursuant to 42 U.S.C. § 1983. See Doc. 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). See Doc. 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 

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3:18-cv-02174 MMA (NLS) 

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$400. See 28 U.S.C. § 1914(a). 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 

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). 

 Here, Plaintiff has not attached a certified copy of his trust account statements, or 

an institutional equivalent, 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 

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 

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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 current trust account statement reflecting the 6-month period 

immediately preceding the filing of this action, 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 

 Accordingly, the Court ORDERS: 

 (1) Plaintiff’s Motion to Proceed IFP (Doc. 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). 

 (2) Plaintiff is GRANTED thirty (30) 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. 

IT IS SO ORDERED. 

DATE: October 9, 2018 _______________________________________

 HON. MICHAEL M. ANELLO 

 United States District Judge 

 

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