Source: http://nj.findacase.com/research/wfrmDocViewer.aspx/xq/fac.20180413_0001068.DNJ.htm/qx
Timestamp: 2019-04-24 16:25:42+00:00

Document:
JAMES PIGOTT, et al., Defendants.
THIS MATTER is opened to the Court by pro se Plaintiff Tariq Elliott (“Plaintiff”), an individual currently confined at Monmouth County Correctional Institution in Freehold, New Jersey, upon the filing of a civil rights action pursuant to 42 U.S.C. § 1983 and an application to proceed in forma pauperis pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 1915(a)(1). (ECF No. 1.) The Prison Litigation Reform Act of 1995 (the “Act”), which amends 28 U.S.C. § 1915, establishes certain financial requirements for prisoners who are attempting to bring a civil action in forma pauperis.
Under the Act, a prisoner bringing a civil action in forma pauperis must submit an affidavit, including a statement of all assets, which states that the prisoner is unable to pay the fee. 28 U.S.C. § 1915(a)(1). The prisoner also must submit a certified copy of his inmate trust fund account statement for the six-month period immediately preceding the filing of his complaint. 28 U.S.C. § 1915(a)(2). The prisoner must obtain this statement from the appropriate official of each prison at which he was or is confined. Id.
The entire fee to be paid in advance of filing a civil complaint is $400. That fee includes a filing fee of $350 plus an administrative fee of $50, for a total of $400. A prisoner who is granted in forma pauperis status will, instead, be assessed a filing fee of $350 and will not be responsible for the $50 administrative fee. If in forma pauperis status is denied, the prisoner must pay the full $400, including the $350 filing fee and the $50 administrative fee, before the complaint will be filed.
If the prisoner is granted in forma pauperis status, the prisoner must pay the full amount of the $350 filing fee as follows. 28 U.S.C. § 1915(b)(1). In each month that the amount in the prisoner's account exceeds $10.00, until the $350.00 filing fee is paid, the agency having custody of the prisoner shall assess, deduct from the prisoner's account, and forward to the Clerk of the Court, payment equal to 20% of the preceding month's income credited to the prisoner's account. 28 U.S.C. § 1915(b)(2).
In other words, Plaintiff must pay the entire filing fee even if he is granted leave to proceed in forma pauperis and even if the case is dismissed before the entire fee has been paid. The Court must dismiss the case if it finds that the action is: (1) frivolous or malicious; (2) fails to state a claim upon which relief may be granted; or (3) seeks monetary relief against a defendant who is immune from such relief. 28 U.S.C. § 1915(e)(2)(B). If the Court dismisses the case for any of these reasons, the Act does not permit the prisoner to get his filing fee back.
In this action, Plaintiff failed to submit any in forma pauperis application as required by 28 U.S.C. § 1915(a). In addition, Plaintiff also failed to sign his Complaint, as is required by the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure. See Fed. R. Civ. P. 11 (“Every pleading, written motion, and other paper must be signed by at least one attorney of record in the attorney's name-or by a party personally if the party is unrepresented.”).
Accordingly, IT IS on this 13th day of April 2018.

References: § 1983
 § 1915
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