Reed v. Newsom

District Court, S.D. California·Decided June 25, 2021·No. 3:20-cv-02439·Unknown

Opinion

MYCHAL ANDRA REED, Case No.: 3:20-cv-2439-AJB-MDD CDCR #AE-9821, ORDER: 1) GRANTING MOTIONS Plaintiff, vs. PAUPERIS [ECF Nos. 3, 5]

GAVIN NEWSOM, SAL URIBE, 2) DISMISSING COMPLAINT FOR ALONDRA RUIZ, PAULETTE FAILING TO STATE A CLAIM PURSUANT TO 28 U.S.C. CORNELL, HAROLD TATE, M.D., E. § 1915(e)(2)(B) AND § 1915A(b) ZENDAJAS, DANIEL PARAMO,

3) DENYING MOTION TO BENYARD, PATRICK COVELLO, TRANSFER BACK TO UNITED MARCUS POLLARD, G. STATES DISTRICT COURT FOR THE NORTHERN DISTRICT OF LAROCCO, F. ARMENTA, J. LUNA, CALIFORNIA [ECF No. 13] RENALDO ANGELES, A. GARVEY, Defendants. Mychal Andra Reed (“Plaintiff”), incarcerated at R.J. Donavan Correctional Facility (“RJD”) in San Diego, California, is proceeding pro se in this case with a civil rights Complaint (“Compl.”) filed pursuant to 42 U.S.C. § 1983. (See Compl., ECF No. / / / 1.) Plaintiff has also filed two Motions to Proceed In Forma Pauperis (“IFP”) pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 1915(a) along with a copy of his prison trust account statement. (See ECF Nos. 3 & 5.) On March 1, 2021, Plaintiff filed a “Motion to Transfer Case Back to Northern District.” (ECF No. 13.) I. Motion to Proceed IFP All parties instituting a 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 $400.2 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 granted leave to proceed IFP remains obligated to pay the entire fee in “increments” or “installments,” Bruce v. Samuels, 577 U.S. 82, 85 (2016); Williams v. Paramo, 775 F.3d 1182, 1185 (9th Cir. 2015), and 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). Section 1915(a)(2) requires prisoners seeking leave to proceed IFP 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 1 The Complaint was originally filed in the United States District Court for the Northern District of California on November 11, 2020. (ECF No. 1.) On December 10, 2020, the District Court for the Northern District of California concluded venue was more appropriate in the Southern District of California and ordered the case transferred to this Court. (See ECF No. 7.) 2 The filing fee associated with civil actions was raised to $402 on December 1, 2020. See 28 U.S.C. § 1914(a) (Judicial Conference Schedule of Fees, District Court Misc. Fee Schedule, § 14 (eff. Dec. 1, 2020)). Because the Complaint was filed on November 11, 2020, the filing fee in this case is $400. See 28 U.S.C. § 1914(a) (Judicial Conference Schedule of Fees, District Court Misc. Fee Schedule, § 14 (eff. June 1, 2016). The $400 filing fee includes the $350 statutory fee plus an administrative fee, which was $50 at the time of filing. Id. The 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); Bruce, 577 U.S. at 85. In support of his IFP Motions, Plaintiff has submitted a copy of his California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation (“CDCR”) Inmate Statement Report as well as a Prison Certificate completed by an accounting officer at RJD. (See ECF No. 5-2 at 1‒6); see also 28 U.S.C. § 1915(a)(2); S.D. Cal. CivLR 3.2; Andrews, 398 F.3d at 1119. These documents show Plaintiff had no available balance at the time of filing. (See ECF No. 5-2 at 1, 3.) Therefore, the Court GRANTS Plaintiff’s Motion to Proceed IFP (ECF Nos. 3, 5), declines to exact any initial filing fee because his prison certificates indicate he may have “no means to pay it,” Bruce, 577 U.S. at 85, and directs the Secretary of the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation (“CDCR”), or her designee, to instead collect the entire $350 balance of the filing fees required by 28 U.S.C. § 1914 and forward them to the Clerk of the Court pursuant to the installment payment provisions set forth in 28 U.S.C. § 1915(b)(1). II. Screening Pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 1915(e)(2)(B) & 1915A(b) A. Standard of Review Because Plaintiff is a prisoner and is proceeding IFP, his Complaint requires a pre- answer screening pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 1915(e)(2) and § 1915A(b). Under these statutes, the Court must sua sponte dismiss a prisoner’s IFP complaint, or any portion of it, 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., 689 F.3d 680, 681 (7th Cir. 2012)). “The standard for determining whether a plaintiff has failed to state a claim upon

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