Heide (ID 108654) v. Kansas Department of Corrections

Opinion

IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT FOR THE DISTRICT OF KANSAS

JAY STEVEN HEIDE,

Plaintiff,

v. CASE NO. 24-3040-JWL

KANSAS DEPARTMENT OF CORRECTIONS, et al.,

Defendants.

MEMORANDUM AND ORDER

Plaintiff Jay Steven Heide is a Kansas prisoner in custody at El Dorado Correctional Facility in El Dorado, Kansas. He began this pro se civil rights action under 42 U.S.C. § 1983 in March 2024. (Doc. 1.) In an order issued in April 2024, the Court granted Plaintiff leave to proceed in forma pauperis in this action. (Doc. 24.) The order assessed an initial partial filing fee of $11.00 and stated, in relevant part: “Plaintiff remains obligated to pay the remainder of the $350.00 filing fee. The agency having custody of plaintiff shall forward payments from plaintiff’s account in installments calculated under 28 U.S.C. § 1915(b)(2).” Id. In May 2024, this matter was dismissed without prejudice for failure to state a plausible claim for relief. (Doc. 31.) The Court received the initial partial filing fee from Plaintiff in July 2024. This matter comes now before the Court on Plaintiff’s “Motion to Stop Payments,” which was received and filed on April 17, 2025. (Doc. 41.) The Court liberally construes the pro se document to ask the Court to waive the remaining amount owed to the Court for the filing fee in this matter and to direct the Kansas Department of Corrections to cease making payments to the Court from Plaintiff’s account to satisfy the filing fee. The controlling statute requires that once the initial partial filing fee is paid by a prisoner who has been granted leave to proceed in forma pauperis, the prisoner shall be required to make monthly payments of 20 percent of the preceding month’s income credited to the prisoner’s account. The agency having custody of the prisoner shall forward payments from the prisoner’s account to the clerk of the court each time the amount in the account exceeds $10 until the filing fees are paid.

28 U.S.C. § 1915(b)(2) (emphasis added). Because Plaintiff is a prisoner and was granted leave to proceed in forma pauperis, § 1915(b)(2) requires him to pay the full amount of the filing fee and it requires the agency having custody of him to forward payments to the clerk of the court until the full amount is paid. Thus, the Court will deny the motion to excuse Plaintiff from this statutory obligation. See Neil v. Maag, 2023 WL 4295369, *7 (D. Kan. June 30, 2023) (unpublished) (denying motion to waive the filing fee and citing 28 U.S.C. § 1915(b)(1)).

IT IS THEREFORE ORDERED BY THE COURT that Plaintiff’s Motion to Stop Payments (Doc. 41) is denied. IT IS SO ORDERED. Dated April 18, 2025, in Kansas City, Kansas. S/ John W. Lungstrum JOHN W. LUNGSTRUM UNITED STATES DISTRICT JUDGE