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UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT 

EASTERN DISTRICT OF MICHIGAN 

SOUTHERN DIVISION 

Earnest Parker-Bey, 

Plaintiff, 

v. 

United States of America, 

Defendant. 

________________________________/

Case No. 15-cv-10694 

Hon. Judith E. Levy 

Mag. Judge R. Steven Whalen 

ORDER DISMISSING CASE WITHOUT PREJUDICE

 Plaintiff Earnest Parker-Bey is an inmate at the Federal 

Correctional Institution in Milan, Michigan. He brings this action 

against defendant United States of America, alleging negligent 

destruction of records pertaining to him. On February 25, 2015, 

Magistrate Judge R. Steven Whalen signed an order of deficiency, 

requiring plaintiff either to submit the $400 filing fee or to provide (1) a 

prisoner’s application to proceed without prepayment of fees and costs 

and authorization to withdraw from trust fund account, (2) a current 

certification or business manager’s account statement, and (3) a 

statement of plaintiff’s trust fund account for the six-month period 

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immediately preceding the filing of his complaint. (Dkt. 2.) Plaintiff 

was given thirty days to comply with the order. (Id.) 

 On February 25, 2015, and again on March 9, 2015, plaintiff filed 

an Application to Proceed in District Court Without Prepayment of Fees 

or Costs. (Dkt. 4, 6.) Plaintiff, however, has failed to provide this Court 

with a written authorization to withdraw funds from his prison trust 

fund account. Plaintiff has also failed to provide the Court with a 

certified trust account statement. 

A prisoner who wishes to bring a civil action in federal court 

without prepayment of fees and costs must file a “certified copy of [his 

or her] trust fund account statement . . . for the 6-month period 

immediately preceding the filing of the complaint or notice of appeal, 

obtained from the appropriate official of each prison at which the 

prisoner is or was confined.” 28 U.S.C. § 1915(a)(2). 

 “If an inmate . . . fails to provide an affidavit of indigency or trust 

account statement, the district court must notify the prisoner of the 

deficiency and the prisoner will then have thirty days from the date of 

the deficiency order to correct the error or to pay the full filing fee.” 

McGore v. Wrigglesworth, 114 F. 3d 601, 605 (6th Cir. 1997), overruled 

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on other grounds by Jones v. Bock, 549 U.S. 199 (2007). If the inmate 

fails to correct the error or pay the filing fee, “the district court must 

presume that the prisoner is not a pauper and assess the inmate the 

full amount of fees.” Id. The case must then be dismissed for want of 

prosecution. Id. 

 Plaintiff’s application to proceed without prepayment of fees and 

costs is deficient because he failed to file an authorization to withdraw 

funds. The moment plaintiff filed his complaint, he became responsible 

for the filing fee, and he waived any objection to the withdrawal of 

funds from his trust fund account to pay court fees and costs. McGore, 

114 F. 3d at 605. 

 Plaintiff has also failed to provide the Court with a signed 

certification regarding his trust fund account. An uncertified trust fund 

account statement, or one that lacks a signature, is insufficient to 

satisfy the filing requirements under § 1915(a)(2). See Hart v. Jaukins, 

99 F. App’x 208, 209-10 (10th Cir. 2004); Moore v. Vantifflin, No. 08-

15168, 2009 WL 224548, at * 1 (E.D. Mich. Jan. 30, 2009). 

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 Because plaintiff has failed to comply with the deficiency order, 

the Court will dismiss the complaint without prejudice for want of 

prosecution. See Erby v. Kula, 113 F. App’x 74, 75-76 (6th Cir. 2004). 

 Accordingly, plaintiff’s complaint is DISMISSED without 

prejudice to plaintiff re-filing a complaint either with the $ 400.00 filing 

fee or with the correct documentation to proceed without prepayment of 

fees. 

 IT IS SO ORDERED. 

Dated: April 28, 2015 s/Judith E. Levy 

Ann Arbor, Michigan JUDITH E. LEVY 

United States District Judge 

CERTIFICATE OF SERVICE

The undersigned certifies that the foregoing document was served 

upon counsel of record and any unrepresented parties via the Court’s 

ECF System to their respective email or First Class U.S. mail addresses 

disclosed on the Notice of Electronic Filing on April 28, 2015. 

s/Felicia M. Moses 

FELICIA M. MOSES 

Case Manager 

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