Derek Vernon Medina v. Department of Corrections, et al.

• Court: District Court, M.D. Florida
• Decided: October 17, 2025
• Docket: 2:25-cv-00933
• Status: Unknown

Opinion

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT MIDDLE DISTRICT OF FLORIDA FORT MYERS DIVISION

DEREK VERNON MEDINA,

Plaintiff,

v. Case No. 2:25-cv-933-SPC-DNF

DEPARTMENT OF CORRECTIONS, et al.,

Defendants. ___________________________________/

OPINION AND ORDER Before the Court is Plaintiff Derek Vernon Medina’s Complaint for Violation of Civil Rights (Doc. 1). Medina—a prisoner of the Florida Department of Corrections—has not paid the filing fee and presumably seeks to proceed in forma pauperis. Because Medina is barred from doing so under 28 U.S.C. § 1915(g), the Court dismisses this action without prejudice. Under § 1915(g), a prisoner cannot proceed in forma pauperis if “on 3 or more prior occasions, while incarcerated or detained in any facility, [he] brought an action or appeal in a [federal] court…that was dismissed on the grounds that it is frivolous, malicious, or fails to state a claim upon which relief can be granted[.]” 28 U.S.C. § 1915(g); see Lomax v. Ortiz-Martinez, 140 S. Ct. 1721, 1723 (2020) (“To help staunch a ‘flood of nonmeritorious’ prisoner litigation, the Prisoner Litigation Reform Act of 1995 (PLRA) established what has become known as the three-strikes rule.” (citation omitted)). And “[a]

dismissal of a suit for failure to state a claim counts as a strike, whether or not with prejudice.” Id. at 1727. The Court takes judicial notice of four prior federal lawsuits Medina filed in this district, all of which were filed before this case and qualify as strikes:

Case Nos. (1) 3:22-cv-422-MMH-PDB (M.D. Fla.) (failure to state a claim); (2) 3:22-cv-525-BJD-JBT (M.D. Fla.) (failure to state a claim); (3) 3:23-cv-1348- HLA-MCR (M.D. Fla.) (failure to state a claim); and (4) 3:23-cv-1415-HES- MCR (M.D. Fla.) (failure to state a claim). Medina is not exempt from §

1915(g)’s three-strikes rule, as the complaint does not allege he is in imminent danger of serious physical injury. Mitchell v. Nobles, 873 F.3d 869, 872 (11th Cir. 2017). The Court thus dismisses the complaint without prejudice. If Medina

wishes to pursue his claims, he must file a new complaint—under a new case number—and pay the filing fee. Accordingly, it is ORDERED:

1. Plaintiff Derek Vernon Medina’s Complaint for Violation of Civil Rights (Doc. 1) is DISMISSED without prejudice under 28 U.S.C. § 1915(g). 2. The Clerk is DIRECTED to enter judgment, terminate any pending motions and deadlines, and close this case. DONE AND ORDERED in Fort Myers, Florida on October 17, 2025.

May POLSTER tert United States District Judge

caw 10/17 Copies: All Parties of Record