Sanchez v. Paramo

District Court, S.D. California·Decided January 16, 2025·No. 3:24-cv-01591·Unknown

Opinion

JUAN SANCHEZ, Case No: 24-cv-01591-BAS-DDL CDCR #AE-7960, ORDER: Plaintiff, vs. (1) GRANTING MOTIONS FOR LEAVE TO PROCEED IN FORMA DOES 1-20, Correctional Officers; PAUPERIS AND TO FILE DOES 21-50, Medical Staff; DOES 51-75, AMENDED COMPLAINT; AND Administrative Staff; DANIEL PARAMO,

Warden; CAMACHO, Correctional Officer; (2) DISMISSING AMENDED CDCR; JEFF MACOMBER, Secretary, COMPLAINT PURSUANT TO Defendants. 28 U.S.C. § 1915(e)(2) AND 28 U.S.C. § 1915A(b)(1)

[ECF Nos. 2, 9] While incarcerated at Salinas Valley State Prison (“SVSP”), Plaintiff Juan Sanchez, proceeding without counsel, filed this civil rights action pursuant to 42 U.S.C. § 1983 in the Northern District of California, together with a motion to proceed in forma pauperis (“IFP”). (See ECF Nos. 1, 2.) Because Plaintiff alleges correctional officials at Richard J. Donovan Correctional Facility (“RJD”) violated his constitutional rights when he was housed there in August 2019, the case was transferred to this Court pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 1406(a). (See ECF No. 5.) Pending before the Court are Plaintiff’s Motion for Leave to Proceed IFP (ECF No. 2) and subsequent Motion seeking leave to file a proposed Amended Complaint (See ECF No. 9, 9-1). For the reasons explained below, the Court GRANTS both Plaintiff’s Motions, but DISMISSES his Amended Complaint sua sponte with leave to amend as untimely. 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 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.”). “While the previous version of the IFP statute granted courts the authority to waive fees for any person ‘unable to pay[,]’ . . . the PLRA [Prison Litigation Reform Act] amended the IFP statute to include a carve-out for prisoners: under the current version of the IFP statute, ‘if a prisoner brings a civil action or files an appeal in forma pauperis, the prisoner shall be required to pay the full amount of a filing fee.’” Hymas, 73 F.4th at 767 (quoting 28 U.S.C. § 1915(b)(1)). Section 1915(b) “provides a structured timeline for collecting this fee.” Id. (citing 28 U.S.C. § 1915(b)(1)-(2)). 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 1 In addition to the $350 statutory fee, civil litigants must pay an additional 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 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 “shall assess and when funds exist, collect, . . . 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 767 (quoting 28 U.S.C. § 1915(b)(1)–(2)). Thus, while prisoners may qualify to proceed IFP without having to pay the statutory filing fee in one lump sum, they nevertheless 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). Here, Plaintiff’s IFP Motion complies with both 28 U.S.C. § 1915(a)(1) and (2). In support, he has submitted a copy of his California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation (“CDCR”) Inmate Trust Account Statement Report. (See ECF Nos. 2, 4.) See also S.D. Cal. CivLR 3.2; Andrews, 398 F.3d at 1119. These documents show Plaintiff maintained an average monthly balance of $25.77 in his prison trust account and had $67.50 in average monthly deposits credited to his account over the 6-month period immediately preceding the filing of his Complaint. At the time of filing, Plaintiff’s available balance was $33.96. (See ECF No. 4 at 1‒2.) Accordingly, the Court GRANTS Plaintiff’s Motion to Proceed IFP (ECF No. 2) and assesses an initial partial filing fee of $13.50 pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 1915(b)(1). However, this initial fee need be collected 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.”); Taylor, 281 F.3d at 850 (finding that 28 U.S.C. § 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 CDCR must thereafter collect the full balance of the $350 total fee owed in this case and forward payments to the Clerk of the Court as provided by 28 U.S.C. § 1915(b)(2). On October 28, 2024, soon after the case was transferred, but before this Court had an opportunity to rule on Plaintiff’s IFP motion or conduct its initial screening of his Complaint as required by 28 U.S.C. §§ 1915(e)(2) and 1915A, Plaintiff filed a Motion seeking leave to amend pursuant to Fed. R. Civ. P.

Sanchez v. Paramo, (S.D. Cal. 2025).

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