Hearn v. Warden

District Court, S.D. California·Decided June 13, 2022·No. 3:22-cv-00255·Unknown

Opinion

WILLIAM HEARN, Case No.: 3:22-cv-00255-TWR-AGS CDCR# AS-7111, ORDER: (1) GRANTING MOTION Plaintiff, vs. PAUPERIS; (2) SCREENING COMPLAINT PURSUANT TO 28 RJD WARDEN, E. FRIJAS, M. U.S.C. §§ 1915(e)(2)(B) & 1915A. POLLARD, JOHN DOE 1 to 8,

Defendants. (ECF No. 2) William Hearn (“Plaintiff” or “Hearn”), currently incarcerated at the Richard J. Donovan Correctional Facility (“RJD”), and proceeding pro se, has filed this civil action pursuant to 42 U.S.C. § 1983. (The “Compl.,” see ECF No. 1.) Hearn has not paid the $402 civil filing fee; instead, he has filed a Motion to proceed in forma pauperis (“IFP”) pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 1915(a). (See ECF Nos. 2, 4.) Hearn alleges his First and Eighth Amendment rights were violated by Defendants. (See generally Compl.) I. Motion to Proceed in forma pauperis 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 $402. See 28 U.S.C. § 1914(a). The 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. § 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, a prisoner who is granted leave to proceed in forma pauperis remains obligated to pay the entire fee in increments or “installments,” regardless of whether his action is ultimately dismissed. See 28 U.S.C. § 1915(b)(1) & (2); Taylor v. Delatoore, 281 F.3d 844, 847 (9th Cir. 2002); Bruce v. Samuels, 577 U.S. 82, 84 (2016); Williams v. Paramo, 775 F.3d 1182, 1185 (9th Cir. 2015). Section 1915(a)(2) requires prisoners seeking leave to proceed in forma pauperis to submit a “certified copy of the 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); Andrews v. King, 398 F.3d 1113, 1119 (9th Cir. 2005). 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); 28 U.S.C. § 1915(b)(4). The institution having custody of the prisoner then collects subsequent payments, assessed at 20% of the preceding month’s income, in any month in which his account exceeds $10, and forwards those payments to the Court until the entire filing fee is paid. See 28 U.S.C. § 1915(b)(2). In support of his Motion to Proceed in forma pauperis, Plaintiff has submitted a copy of his CDCR inmate trust account statement and prison certificate. See ECF No. 4; 28 U.S.C. § 1915(a)(2); S.D. CAL. CIVLR 3.2; Andrews, 398 F.3d at 1119. This statement shows that in the six months preceding filing, Plaintiff has had average monthly deposits 1 In addition to the $350 statutory fee, civil litigants must pay an additional administrative fee of $52. See 28 U.S.C. § 1914(a) (Judicial Conference Schedule of Fees, District Court Misc. Fee Schedule, § 14 (eff. Dec. 1, 2020). The additional $52 administrative fee does not apply to persons granted leave to proceed IFP. Id. of $20.00 and an average monthly balance of $1,054.67. See ECF No. 4 at 1. At the time of filing, he had $278.41 on account at RJD. Id. Therefore, the Court GRANTS Plaintiff’s Motion to Proceed in forma pauperis (see ECF No. 2) and assesses an initial partial filing fee of $210.93 pursuant to 28 U.S.C. Section 1915(b)(1). The Court directs the Secretary of the CDCR, or his designee, to collect this initial filing fee 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.”); Bruce, 136 S. Ct. at 630; Taylor, 281 F.3d at 850 (finding that 28 U.S.C. Section 1915(b)(4) acts as a “safety-valve” preventing dismissal of a prisoner’s IFP case based solely on a “failure to pay . . . due to the lack of funds available to him when payment is ordered.”). The Court further directs the Secretary of the CDCR, or his designee, to collect remaining balance of the $350 total fee owed in this case as required by 28 U.S.C. Section 1914 and to forward it to the Clerk of the Court pursuant to the installment payment provisions set forth in 28 U.S.C. Section 1915(b)(1). II. Screening Pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 1915(e)(2)(B) & 1915A A. Standard of Review Because Hearn is a prisoner and is proceeding in forma pauperis, his Complaint requires a preliminary screening pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 1915(e)(2) and § 1915A(b). Under these statutes, the Court must review and sua sponte dismiss an in forma pauperis complaint, and any complaint filed by a prisoner seeking redress from a governmental entity, or officer or employee of a governmental entity, which is frivolous, malicious, fails to state a claim, or seeks 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 or malicious suits need not bear the expense of responding.’” Nordstrom v. Ryan, 762 F.3d 903, 920 n.1 (9th Cir. 2014) (quoting Wheeler v. Wexford Health Sources, Inc., 6

Free access — add to your briefcase to read the full text and ask questions with AI

Hearn v. Warden, (S.D. Cal. 2022).

Hearn v. Warden (Hearn v. Warden) — published by Counsel Stack Legal Research, free access to 12M+ legal documents.

Related

Estelle v. Gamble
429 U.S. 97 (Supreme Court, 1976)
Davis v. Scherer
468 U.S. 183 (Supreme Court, 1984)
Graham v. Connor
490 U.S. 386 (Supreme Court, 1989)
Bartlett v. Strickland
556 U.S. 1 (Supreme Court, 2009)
Rhodes v. Robinson
621 F.3d 1002 (Ninth Circuit, 2010)
Gillespie v. Civiletti
629 F.2d 637 (Ninth Circuit, 1980)
Barbara P. Hutchinson v. United States of America
838 F.2d 390 (Ninth Circuit, 1988)
Eric Sanchez v. Duane R. Vild
891 F.2d 240 (Ninth Circuit, 1989)
United States v. Huete-Sandoval
668 F.3d 1 (First Circuit, 2011)
Palmer v. Sanderson
9 F.3d 1433 (Ninth Circuit, 1993)
Gibson v. County of Washoe, Nevada
290 F.3d 1175 (Ninth Circuit, 2002)
Toguchi v. Soon Hwang Chung
391 F.3d 1051 (Ninth Circuit, 2004)
Rhodes v. Robinson
408 F.3d 559 (Ninth Circuit, 2005)