Dutcher v. Foley

Opinion

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT EASTERN DISTRICT OF MISSOURI EASTERN DIVISION

MICHAEL DUTCHER, ) ) Plaintiff, ) ) vs. ) Case No. 4:24-cv-01257-MTS ) TREVOR FOLEY, et al., ) ) Defendants. )

MEMORANDUM AND ORDER After receiving Plaintiff’s Notice of Appeal, this Court assessed the $605 appellate filing fee. See Doc. [53]; see also Henderson v. Norris, 129 F.3d 481, 485 (8th Cir. 1997) (“When a district court receives a prisoner’s notice of appeal in a prisoner’s civil action, it shall assess the . . . appellate filing fees and process the appeal in ordinary course.”). The Court also instructed Plaintiff to file an Affidavit Accompanying Motion for Permission to Appeal in Forma Pauperis and a certified copy of his trust fund account statement for the 6-month period immediately preceding the filing of the notice of appeal. See 28 U.S.C. § 1915(a)(2). Since that instruction, the Court has determined that Plaintiff Michael Dutcher has, while incarcerated, brought three or more civil actions in federal court that were dismissed for failure to state a claim upon which relief may be granted. See Dutcher v. Precythe, 4:23-cv-01553-SEP, ECF No. 33 (E.D. Mo. Sept. 30, 2024) (collecting cases); see also 28 U.S.C. § 1915(e)(2)(B)(ii). Therefore, Plaintiff Michael Dutcher may not proceed on appeal in forma pauperis in this matter. Id. § 1915(g); see also Gonzalez v. United States, 23 F.4th 788, 789 (8th Cir.), cert. denied, 142 S. Ct. 2837 (2022) (“After three strikes, a litigant loses the right to sue without prepaying the filing fee.”). Accordingly, IT IS HEREBY ORDERED that the Clerk of Court is respectfully directed to notify the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit that this Court has found that Plaintiff Michael Dutcher is not entitled to proceed in forma pauperis in this matter. See Fed. R. App. P. 24(a)(B)(4). Dated this 14th day of March 2025. |) oo yh A UNITED STATES DISTRICT JUDGE

_2-