Jones v. San Diego Sheriffs Dept.

Opinion

TERRELL M. JONES, Case No: 25-cv-00289-BAS-KSC Booking #24736966, ORDER: Plaintiff, v. (1) DENYING MOTION TO PROCEED IN FORMA

PAUPERIS (ECF No. 2); AND SAN DIEGO SHERIFFS DEP’T, Defendant. (2) DISMISSING CIVIL PREJUDICE FOR FAILURE TO PAY FILING FEES REQUIRED BY 28 U.S.C. § 1914(a) Terrell M. Jones (“Plaintiff”), a detainee proceeding pro se, has filed a civil rights complaint pursuant to 42 U.S.C. § 1983. (ECF No. 1.) In lieu of paying the filing fee required by 28 U.S.C. § 1914(a), Plaintiff filed a Motion to Proceed In Forma Pauperis (“IFP”) pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 1915(a). (ECF No. 2.) For the reasons discussed below, the Court denies Plaintiff’s IFP motion and dismisses the action without prejudice. 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 $405.1 See 28 U.S.C. § 1914(a). The action may proceed despite a failure to pay the entire fee at the time of filing only if the district court grants the plaintiff leave to proceed IFP pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 1915(a). See Andrews v. Cervantes, 493 F.3d 1047, 1051 (9th Cir. 2007); cf. Hymas v. U.S. Dep’t of the Interior, 73 F.4th 763, 765 (9th Cir. 2023) (“[W]here [an] IFP application is denied altogether, Plaintiff’s case [cannot] proceed unless and until the fee[s] [a]re paid.”). To proceed IFP, prisoners must “submit[] an affidavit that includes a statement of all assets [they] possess[,]” as well as “a certified copy of the[ir] 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)(1)–(2); Andrews v. King, 398 F.3d 1113, 1119 (9th Cir. 2005). Using this financial information, the court “assess[es] and, when funds exist, collect[s], . . . an initial partial filing fee[,]” which is “calculated based on ‘the average monthly deposits to the prisoner’s account’ or ‘the average monthly balance in the prisoner’s account’ over a 6-month term; the remainder of the fee is to be paid in ‘monthly payments of 20 percent of the preceding month’s income credited to the prisoner’s account.’” Hymas, 73 F.4th at 766 n.3 (quoting 28 U.S.C. § 1915(b)(1)–(2)). In short, while prisoners may qualify to proceed IFP without having to pay the full statutory filing upfront, they remain obligated to pay the full amount due in monthly payments. See Bruce v. Samuels, 577 U.S. 82, 84 (2016); 28 U.S.C. § 1915(b)(1)–(2); Taylor v. Delatoore, 281 F.3d 844, 847 (9th Cir. 2002).

1 In addition to the $350 statutory fee, civil litigants must also pay an administrative fee of $55. See 28 U.S.C. § 1914(a); Judicial Conference Schedule of Fees, District Court Misc. Fee Schedule, § 14 (eff. Dec. 1, 2023). The additional $55 administrative fee does not apply to persons granted leave to proceed IFP. Id. Here, Plaintiff's IFP Motion is incomplete because he has not included a certified copy of his trust account statement for the 6-month period immediately preceding the filing his Complaint. See 28 U.S.C. § 1915(a)(2); S.D. Cal. CivLR 3.2. Without a certified trust account statement, the Court is unable to assess whether any initial partial filing fee be required to initiate the prosecution of Plaintiff’s case. See 28 U.S.C. § 1915(b)(1). Accordingly, the Court: (1) DENIES Plaintiff's Motion to Proceed IFP (ECF No. 2) and DISMISSES the action without prejudice. See 28 U.S.C. §§ 1915(a) & 1914(a). (2) GRANTS Plaintiff forty-five (45) days from the date of this Order to re-open case by either: (a) prepaying the entire $405 civil filing and administrative fee in one lump-sum; or (b) filing a renewed Motion to Proceed IFP, which includes a prison certificate, signed by a trust accounting official attesting as to his trust account balances and deposits and/or a certified copy of his Inmate Statement Report for the 6-month period preceding the filing of his Complaint pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 1915(a)(2) and S.D. Cal. CivLR 3.2(b). If Plaintiff chooses not to comply with this Order by either paying the $405 civil filing fee and administrative fee in full or submitting a properly supported IFP Motion within forty-five (45) days, this case will remain dismissed without prejudice and without further order of the Court based on Plaintiffs failure to comply with 28 U.S.C. § 1914(a). (3) DIRECTS the Clerk of the Court to provide Plaintiff with this Court’s approved form “Motion and Declaration in Support of Motion to Proceed In Forma Pauperis.” | DATED: March 28, 2025 (Dyhark 77 H n. Cynthia Bashant, Chief Judge United States District Court -3-