Opinion ID: 164304
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: Sanction Dismissal

Text: The district court dismissed the complaint in its entirety with prejudice based on a R&R stating that Rueb had failed to comply with a March 15, 2001, -3- court order either to make the February and March 2001 monthly filing fee payments required by 28 U.S.C. § 1915(b) or to show cause why he had insufficient means to make such payments. R. Docs. 153 at 1-2, 187 at 1, and 284 at 5. Rueb filed a timely response to this order demonstrating that his monthly income from September 2000 through February 2001 never exceeded $10.00, and that he had a negative $435.97 prison trust account balance as of February 13, 2001. Doc. 154 at 3-4. Despite his lack of funds and his timely response, the magistrate judge recommended Rueb’s complaint be dismissed with prejudice as a sanction for failure to comply with the March 15, 2001 show cause order. Doc. 187 at 2. The R&R did not explain how Rueb failed to comply with the court order and made several errors. First, Rueb was not obligated under § 1915(b) to make a February or March 2001 payment because he had a long-standing negative account balance, and the amount in his account for these months did not exceed $10.00. 28 U.S.C. § 1915(b)(2) (stating that payment required only when amount in account exceeds $10.00). Rueb noted this in response to the show cause order and in his objections to the R&R. R. Docs. 154 at 1-2 and 191 at 2-4. Second, the show cause order referred only to missed payments in February and March 2001, Doc. 153 at 2, yet the R&R stated the March 2001 show cause order was based on missed payments in April, May, June, and July 2001, Doc. 187 at 1. -4- Missed payments in those months, however, had not been the subject of any show cause order. Moreover, even if Rueb had somehow failed to comply with the show cause order, neither the magistrate judge nor the district court addressed the relevant factors set forth in Ehrenhaus v. Reynolds , 965 F.2d 916 (10th Cir. 1992), which must ordinarily be considered by the court before choosing dismissal as a just sanction. See id. at 921. We therefore reverse the dismissal of Rueb’s complaint for failure to comply with the March 15, 2001 show cause order.