Durley v. Leberalh

District Court, E.D. Wisconsin·Decided November 2, 2022·No. 2:22-cv-00706·Unknown

Opinion

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT EASTERN DISTRICT OF WISCONSIN ______________________________________________________________________________ TIMOTHY DURLEY,

Plaintiff, v. Case No. 22-cv-706-pp

MEGAN LEBERAK, ANDREA BLEECKER, ROBERT WEINMAN, CHERYL JEANPIERRE, ANN YORK and GWENDOLYN VICK,

Defendants. ______________________________________________________________________________

ORDER WAIVING PLAINTIFF’S PAYMENT OF INITIAL PARTIAL FILING FEE, GRANTING PLAINTIFF’S MOTION FOR LEAVE TO PROCEED WITHOUT PREPAYING FILING FEE (DKT. NO. 2) AND SCREENING COMPLAINT UNDER 28 U.S.C. §1915A ______________________________________________________________________________

Timothy Durley, who is incarcerated at Waupun Correctional Institution and is representing himself, filed a complaint under 42 U.S.C. §1983, alleging that the defendants failed to provide adequate treatment for his migraines and nosebleeds. This order waives the requirement that the plaintiff pay an initial partial filing fee, resolves the plaintiff’s motion for leave to proceed without prepaying the filing fee, dkt. no. 2, and screens his complaint, dkt. no. 1. I. Motion for Leave to Proceed without Prepaying the Filing Fee (Dkt. No. 2)

The Prison Litigation Reform Act (PLRA) applies to this case because the plaintiff was incarcerated when he filed his complaint. See 28 U.S.C. §1915(h). The PLRA lets the court allow an incarcerated plaintiff to proceed with his case without prepaying the civil case filing fee. 28 U.S.C. §1915(a)(2). When funds exist, the plaintiff must pay an initial partial filing fee. 28 U.S.C. §1915(b)(1). He then must pay the balance of the $350 filing fee over time, through deductions from his prisoner account. Id. On July 8, 2022, the court ordered the plaintiff to pay an initial partial filing fee of $1.53. Dkt. No. 8. On July 20, 2022, the court received a letter from

the plaintiff, in which he said he was unable to pay the $1.53 initial partial filing fee because he had no money in his regular institutional trust account and only $0.24 in his release account. Dkt. No. 9. The plaintiff asked the court to dismiss this case so that he could re-file in the future when he had more money, but he also asked the court to allow him to proceed without paying the initial partial filing fee. Id. The court ordered the plaintiff to clarify whether he wanted to dismiss the case or whether he wanted to proceed without paying an initial partial filing fee. Dkt. No. 10. The court also ordered that, if the plaintiff

wanted to proceed, he must submit his most recent institutional trust account statement showing his inability to pay the initial partial filing fee. Id. On August 4, 2022, the court received a letter from the plaintiff clarifying that he had filed his institutional trust account statement and wanted to proceed in this lawsuit. Dkt. No. 11. The plaintiff also filed his institutional trust account statement for July 2022. Dkt. No. 12. That statement showed a balance of $0.00 in the plaintiff’s regular account and $0.24 in his release

account, as he had told the court in his first letter. Id. at 1. The court has the authority to waive the initial partial filing fee under 28 U.S.C. §1915(b)(4) if the plaintiff lacks both the “assets” and the “means” to pay it. The Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit has explained that “[i]t is not enough that the prisoner lack assets on the date he files.” Newlin v. Helman, 123 F.3d 429, 435 (7th Cir. 1997), overruled in part on other grounds by Walker v. O’Brien, 216 F.3d 626, 628–29 (7th Cir. 2000), and Lee v. Clinton, 209 F.3d 1025, 1027 (7th Cir. 2000). If that were the case, incarcerated

persons easily could avoid paying the initial partial filing fee by spending what was in their trust accounts before filing a lawsuit. The court construes an incarcerated person’s “means” broadly; an incarcerated person may lack “assets” but still have “means” to pay the fee. According to his trust account statement, the plaintiff has no money in his regular trust account and only $0.24 in his release account. His request to proceed without prepaying the filing fee shows that he has no assets, no cash or bank account and no source of income.1 Dkt. No. 2. The court concludes

that the plaintiff has neither the assets nor the means to pay the initial partial filing fee, and it will not require him to pay one. The court will waive the initial partial filing fee and will grant the plaintiff’s motion for leave to proceed without

1 In the section of the plaintiff’s request to proceed without prepaying the filing fee entitled “Litigation History,” the plaintiff listed three cases: 20-cv-1889, 20- cv-1890 and 21-cv-883. Dkt. No. 2 at 3. That is not a complete recitation of the plaintiff’s litigation history. Between December 2020 and the date on which he filed this case, the plaintiff filed ten cases, all of which were or are assigned to this court: 20-cv-1889, 20-cv-1890, 21-cv-153, 21-cv-154, 21-cv-281, 21-cv- 628, 21-cv-822, 21-cv-883, 21-cv-1263 and 22-cv-585. The court already has dismissed 20-cv-1889, 21-cv-153, 21-cv-281 and 21-cv-628. The court advises the plaintiff to be truthful about his pending or dismissed cases in this court or any other. His failure to provide truthful, accurate information about his litigation or litigation history could result in the court dismissing any case in which he is not truthful. prepaying the filing fee. Dkt. No. 2. He must pay the full filing fee over time in the manner explained at the end of this order. II. Screening the Complaint A. Federal Screening Standard

Under the PLRA, the court must screen complaints brought by incarcerated plaintiffs seeking relief from a governmental entity or officer or employee of a governmental entity. 28 U.S.C. §1915A(a). The court must dismiss a complaint if the plaintiff raises claims that are legally “frivolous or malicious,” that fail to state a claim upon which relief may be granted, or that seek monetary relief from a defendant who is immune from such relief. 28 U.S.C. §1915A(b). In determining whether the complaint states a claim, the court applies

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