Castro v. Gipson

District Court, S.D. California·Decided September 6, 2024·No. 3:24-cv-00789·Unknown

Opinion

DENNIS CASTRO, Case No.: 3:24-cv-00789-DMS-DEB CDCR #V33841, ORDER (1) GRANTING MOTION Plaintiff, vs. PAUPERIS;

(2) DENYING MOTION FOR CONNIE GIPSON, J. HILL, AMADOR, RECONSIDERATION AS MOOT; D. EUSTQUIO, SEGOVIA, WINGO, AND MOECKLY, MOSELEY, SMITH, (3) DISMISSING COMPLAINT WITHOUT PREJUDICE FOR Defendants. FAILURE TO COMPLY WITH FED. R. CIV. P. 8 On May 1, 2024, Plaintiff Dennis Castro, currently incarcerated at Richard J. Donovan Correctional Facility (“RJD”) in San Diego, California, and proceeding pro se, filed a civil rights complaint pursuant to 42 U.S.C. § 1983. See ECF No. 1. On May 9, 2024, the Court dismissed the action because Plaintiff failed to pay the filing fee or move to proceed in forma pauperis (“IFP”). ECF No. 4. The Court gave Plaintiff an opportunity to have his case reopened by either paying the $405 filing fee or filing a properly supported IFP motion. Plaintiff subsequently filed a Motion to Proceed IFP [ECF No. 5] and a Motion for Reconsideration [ECF No. 6]. For the reasons discussed below, the Court grants Plaintiff’s request to proceed IFP, denies his motion for reconsideration as moot, and dismisses the Complaint without prejudice for failure to comply with Rule 8 of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure. 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 $405.1 See 28 U.S.C. § 1914(a). A party may initiate a civil action without prepaying the required filing fee if the Court grants leave to proceed IFP based on indigency. 28 U.S.C. § 1915(a); Andrews v. Cervantes, 493 F.3d 1047, 1051 (9th Cir. 2007). To proceed IFP, plaintiffs must establish their inability to pay by filing an affidavit regarding their income and assets. See Escobedo v. Applebees, 787 F.3d 1226, 1234 (9th Cir. 2015). Prisoners seeking to establish an inability to pay must also submit a “certified copy of the [prisoner’s] 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). Prisoners who proceed IFP must repay the entire fee in installments regardless of whether their action is ultimately dismissed. 28 U.S.C. § 1915(b)(2); Bruce v. Samuels, 577 U.S. 82, 84 (2016). In support of his IFP Motion, Plaintiff has provided a copy of his trust account statement and prison certificate authorized by an accounting officer. See ECF No. 5 at 4– 1 In addition to the $350 statutory fee, civil litigants must pay an additional administrative fee of $55. See 28 U.S.C. § 1914(a) (Judicial Conference Schedule of Fees, District Court Misc. Fee Schedule, § 14 (eff. Dec. 1, 2023)). The additional $55 administrative fee does not apply to 6. During the six months prior to filing suit, Plaintiff had an average monthly balance of $511.49, average monthly deposits of $180.84, and an available account balance of $256.22 at the time he filed suit. Id. at 4. Accordingly, the Court GRANTS Plaintiff’s IFP motion and assesses an initial partial filing fee of $102.30 pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 1915(b)(1). However, this initial fee need be collected only if sufficient funds are available in Plaintiff’s account at the time this Order is executed. See 28 U.S.C. § 1915(b)(4) (providing that “[i]n no event shall a prisoner be prohibited from bringing a civil action or appealing a civil action or criminal judgment for the reason that the prisoner has no assets and no means by which to pay the initial partial filing fee.”); Taylor, 281 F.3d at 850 (finding that 28 U.S.C. § 1915(b)(4) acts as a “safety-valve” preventing dismissal of a prisoner’s IFP case based solely on “failure to pay . . . due to the lack of funds available to him when payment is ordered.”). Pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 1915(b)(2), the CDCR or any agency later having custody must forward payments to the Clerk until the $350 statutory fee is paid in full. Shortly after filing the IFP motion discussed above, Castro filed a Motion for Reconsideration, in which he asks the Court to “reconsider” its May 9, 2024 dismissal in light of his subsequent request to proceed IFP. ECF No. 6. But as discussed above, the case has been reopened and his IFP motion has been granted. Therefore, the Court DENIES the Motion for Reconsideration as moot. IV. SCREENING PURSUANT TO 28 U.S.C. § 1915(e) AND § 1915A(b) A. Standard of Review Because Plaintiff is a prisoner and is proceeding IFP, his Complaint requires a preliminary screening pursuant to 28 U.S.C. §§ 1915(e)(2) & 1915A(b). Under these statutes, the Court must sua sponte dismiss a prisoner’s IFP complaint, or any portion found frivolous, malicious, failing to state a claim, or seeking damages from defendants who are immune. See Lopez v. Smith, 203 F.3d 1122, 1126‒27 (9th Cir. 2000) (en banc) (discussing 28 U.S.C. § 1915(e)(2)); Rhodes v. Robinson, 621 F.3d 1002, 1004 (9th Cir. 2010) (discussing 28 U.S.C. § 1915A(b)). “The purpose of [screening] is to ‘ensure that the targets of frivolous and malicious suits need not bear the expense of responding.’” Nordstrom v. Ryan, 762 F.3d 903, 920 n.1 (9th Cir. 2014) (citation omitted). “The standard for determining whether a plaintiff has failed to state a claim upon which relief can be granted under § 1915(e)(2)(B)(ii) is the same as the Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 12(b)(6) standard for failure to state a claim.” Watison v. Carter, 668 F.3d 1108, 1112 (9th Cir. 2012); see also Wilhelm v. Rotman, 680 F.3d 1113, 1121 (9th Cir. 2012) (noting that § 1915A screening “incorporates the familiar standard applied in the context of failure to state a claim under

Castro v. Gipson, (S.D. Cal. 2024).

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