UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT

EASTERN DISTRICT OF MICHIGAN

SOUTHERN DIVISION

JOHN A. CORRION,

Plaintiff,

Case No. 09-13159

v. Honorable David M. Lawson

PATRICIA L. CARUSO, NICK LUDWICK,

and JOHN DOE, Corrections Officers,

Defendants.

____________________________________/

OPINION AND ORDER DENYING LEAVE TO PROCEED WITHOUT

PREPAYMENT OF THE FILING FEE AND DISMISSING THE COMPLAINT

The plaintiff, a state prisoner currently confined at the Michigan Reformatory in Ionia,

Michigan, has filed a pro se civil rights complaint pursuant to 42 U.S.C. § 1983 and seeks leave to

proceed without prepayment of the fees and costs for this action. Having reviewed the plaintiff’s

history of frivolous lawsuits, the Court concludes that the plaintiff may not proceed without

prepayment of the filing fee for this action. Accordingly, leave to proceed without prepayment of

fees and costs will be denied, and the complaint will be dismissed without prejudice unless the

plaintiff pays the full filing fee for this action within twenty-eight days.

I.

The actions giving rise to the plaintiff’s complaint occurred on January 25, 2009, while he

was incarcerated at the St. Louis Correctional Facility in St. Louis, Michigan. The plaintiff alleged

that, while walking in the prison yard, he was slashed in the face by an unidentified inmate,

requiring six internal and twenty external stitches. He claimed that prison officials failed to

adequately protect him. The plaintiff has named Michigan Department of Corrections Director

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Patricia Caruso, St. Louis Warden Nick Ludwick, and four unidentified St. Louis corrections officers

as the defendants in this case. He seeks compensatory and punitive damages for the violation of his

Eighth Amendment rights under the United States Constitution. 

II.

A preliminary issue is whether the plaintiff may proceed without prepayment of the entire

filing fee for this action. The Court’s records reveal that the plaintiff has filed more than three prior

civil actions which have been dismissed as frivolous or for failure to state a claim upon which relief

may be granted. See Corrion v. Ludwick, No. 2:09-CV-11531, slip op. (E.D. Mich. July 13, 2009);

Corrion v. Morse, et al., No. 2:09-CV-1186,(E.D. Mich. June 30, 2003); Corrion v. Morse, et al.,

No. 2:09-CV-11404, 2009 WL 1086788, at *3-4 (E.D. Mich. April, 22, 2009). Consequently, under

the “three strikes” provision of the Prison Litigation Reform Act of 1995, the plaintiff may not

proceed without prepayment of the filing fee and costs for this action unless he is in imminent

danger of serious physical injury. See 28 U.S.C. § 1915(g). The event giving rise to the plaintiff’s

complaint–an assault by a fellow inmate several months ago–does not reach this threshold,

especially considering that the plaintiff is has since been transferred to another prison facility.

Therefore, he has failed to demonstrate that he is “under imminent danger of serious physical

injury,” see 28 U.S.C. § 1915(g), and he may not proceed with this action unless he pays the entire

filing fee. See In re Alea, 286 F.3d 378, 381 (6th Cir. 2002). 

Accordingly, it is ORDERED that the plaintiff’s application for leave to proceed without

prepayment of the fees and costs for this action is DENIED.

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It is further ORDERED that the plaintiff shall tender to the Clerk of the Court the entire

filing fee of $350.00 on or before September 18, 2009. If he fails to do so, his complaint will be

dismissed.

s/David M. Lawson 

DAVID M. LAWSON

United States District Judge

Dated: August 21, 2009

PROOF OF SERVICE

The undersigned certifies that a copy of the foregoing order was served

upon each attorney or party of record herein by electronic means or first

class U.S. mail on August 21, 2009.

s/Lisa M. Ware 

LISA M. WARE

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