Dorsey v. Paramo

Opinion

JESSIE DORSEY, Case No.: 3:20-cv-00843-JAH-LL CDCR #AF-6022, ORDER DISMISSING CIVIL Plaintiff, ACTION WITHOUT PREJUDICE vs. FOR FAILING TO PAY FILING FEE REQUIRED

BY 28 U.S.C. § 1914(a) AND/OR D. PARAMO, et al., FAILING TO MOVE TO PROCEED Defendants. IN FORMA PAUPERIS 28 U.S.C. § 1915(a)

Plaintiff Jessie Dorsey, currently incarcerated at the Richard J. Donovan Correctional Facility (“RJD”), is proceeding pro se in this civil rights action pursuant to 42 U.S.C. Section 1983. (See ECF No. 1, Compl.) I. Failure to Pay Filing Fee or Request IFP Status 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 $400. See 28 U.S.C. § 1914(a). An action may proceed despite a plaintiff’s failure to prepay the entire fee only if he is granted leave to proceed IFP pursuant to 28 U.S.C. Section 1915(a). See Andrews v. Cervantes, 493 F.3d 1047, 1051 (9th Cir. 2007); Rodriguez v. Cook, 169 F.3d 1176, 1177 (9th Cir. 1999). However, if the Plaintiff is a prisoner, and even if he is granted leave to commence his suit IFP, he remains obligated to pay the entire filing fee in “increments,” see Williams v. Paramo, 775 F.3d 1182, 1185 (9th Cir. 2015), regardless of whether his case is ultimately dismissed. See 28 U.S.C. § 1915(b)(1) & (2); Taylor v. Delatoore, 281 F.3d 844, 847 (9th Cir. 2002). Plaintiff has not prepaid the $400 in filing and administrative fees required to commence a civil action. And although Plaintiff has submitted certified trust account statements for the six-month period immediately preceding the filing of the complaint as required by 28 U.S.C. Section 1915(a)(2), see ECF No. 3, he has not submitted a properly supported Motion to Proceed IFP pursuant to 28 U.S.C. Section 1915(a). Therefore, his case cannot yet proceed. See 28 U.S.C. § 1914(a); Andrews, 493 F.3d at 1051. II. Conclusion and Order For the reasons set forth above, the Court hereby: (1) DISMISSES this action sua sponte without prejudice for failure to pay the $400 civil filing and administrative fee or to submit a Motion to Proceed IFP pursuant to 28 U.S.C. Section 1914(a) and Section 1915(a); and (2) GRANTS Plaintiff forty-five (45) days leave from the date this Order is filed to: (a) prepay the entire $400 civil filing and administrative fee in full; or (b) complete and file a Motion to Proceed IFP. See 28 U.S.C. § 1915(a)(2); S.D. Cal. Civ. L.R. 3.2(b). 1 In addition to the $350 statutory fee, civil litigants must pay an additional administrative fee of $50. See 28 U.S.C. § 1914(a) (Judicial Conference Schedule of Fees, District Court Misc. Fee Schedule, § 14 (eff. Oct. 1, 2019)). The additional $50 IT IS FURTHER ORDERED that the Clerk of the Court shall provide Plaintiff with this Court’s approved form “Motion and Declaration in Support of Motion to Proceed In Forma Pauperis.” If Plaintiff fails to either prepay the $400 civil filing fee or complete and submit the enclosed Motion to Proceed IFP within 45 days, this action will remain dismissed without prejudice based on Plaintiff’s failure to satisfy the fee requirements of 28 U.S.C. Section 1914(a) and without further Order of the Court. Dated: July 10, 2020 n. John A. Houston /nited States District Judge 3