(PC) Watkins v. Tuolumne Co Sheriff

Opinion

RAYMOND C. WATKINS, No. 1:23-cv-01430-JLT-SAB (PC) Plaintiff, ORDER REGARDING PLAINTIFF’S REQUEST TO STOP DEDUCTION OF v. FILING FEE FOR THIS ACTION TUOLUMNE CO. SHERIFF, et al., (ECF No. 16) Defendants. On December 7, 2023, the instant action filed pursuant to 42 U.S.C. § 1983 was terminated pursuant to Plaintiff’s motion for voluntary dismissal. (ECF No. 15.) In that order, On February 20, 2024, Plaintiff filed a motion “to end funds transfers.” (ECF No. 16.) In his motion, Plaintiff requests that the Court order the jail to refund any money collected and to stop taking money from his trust account for the filing fee in this action. (Id. at 1.) Plaintiff contends that he “believes the jail has taken $36.75 or more since November.” (Id.) As stated in the Court’s December 7, 2023, order no payment has been received and/or collected toward the payment of the filing fee in this action. (ECF No. 15 at 2) (citing Meyers v. Birdsong, 83 F.4th 1157, 1161 (9th Cir. 2023) (holding that “§ 1915(b) neither permits nor requires the collection of fees” from a prisoner who seeks in forma pauperis status but whose request is denied pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 1915(g)); Smith v. Dist. of Columbia, 182 F.3d 25, 29– 30 (D.C. Cir. 1999) (holding that prisoner whose request for in forma pauperis status was denied pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 1915(g) was not required to pay filing fee out of prison account). In addition, the attachments to Plaintiff's present motion do not demonstrate that any funds have been deducted from Plaintiff's trust account for the filing fee in this action. Nonetheless, in an abundance of caution, the Court will order the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation to not collect any funds from Plaintiffs trust account for the filing fee in this action. Accordingly, it is HEREBY ORDERED that: 1. Plaintiff's motion to refund money collected from his prison trust account toward the filing fee for this action is denied, without prejudice; 2. The Court orders the Director of the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation or a designee to stop collecting and making payments from Plaintiff’s trust account to satisfy the balance of the filing fee in this action; 3. The Clerk of the Court is directed to serve a copy of this order on the Director, California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation, 1515 S Street, Sacramento, California 95814; and 4. The Clerk of the Court is directed to serve a copy of this order on the Financial Department of the Court. IT IS SO ORDERED. F- 2 ee Dated: _February 22, 2024 _ OO UNITED STATES MAGISTRATE JUDGE