Urmancheev v. United States

District Court, S.D. California·Decided October 5, 2022·No. 3:22-cv-01039·Unknown

Opinion

A.S. URMANCHEEV, Case No.: 22-CV-1039 JLS (MDD) #A075117610, ORDER: (1) GRANTING MOTION Plaintiff, v. PAUPERIS; AND (2) DISMISSING COMPLAINT WITH LEAVE TO

AMEND PURSUANT TO 28 U.S.C. UNITED STATES; MERRICK § 1915(e)(2)(B) GARLAND; ALEJANDRO

MAYORKAS; DEP’T OF HOMELAND SECURITY; and ICE OFFICERS, (ECF Nos. 1 & 2) Defendants.

Plaintiff A.S. Urmancheev (“Plaintiff”), detained at the Otay Mesa Detention Center (“Otay Mesa”) in San Diego, California, and proceeding pro se, has filed a Complaint pursuant to the Administrative Procedures Act (“APA”); the Federal Tort Claims Act (“FTCA”); the Immigration and Naturalization Act (“INA”); the First, Fourth, and Fifth Amendments to the United States Constitution; and unspecified provisions of the California Constitution and California Civil Code. See generally ECF No. 1 (“Compl.”). He has also filed a motion to proceed in forma pauperis (“IFP”). ECF No. 2 (“IFP Mot.”). For the reasons provided below, the Court GRANTS Plaintiff’s IFP Motion and DISMISSES WITHOUT PREJUDICE his Complaint. 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 $402.1 See 28 U.S.C. § 1914(a). An action may proceed despite a party’s failure to prepay the entire fee only if leave to proceed IFP is granted pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 1915(a). See Andrews v. Cervantes, 493 F.3d 1047, 1051 (9th Cir. 2007). Prisoners seeking leave to proceed IFP must 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 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) & (4). The institution collects subsequent payments, assessed at 20% of the preceding month’s income, in any month in which the account’s balance exceeds $10, and forwards those payments to the Court until the entire filing fee is paid. See 28 U.S.C. § 1915(b)(2). The prisoner remains obligated to pay the entire fee in monthly installments regardless of whether the action is ultimately dismissed. Bruce v. Samuels, 577 U.S. 82, 84 (2016); 28 U.S.C. § 1915(b). As defined by the Prison Litigation Reform Act (“PLRA”), a “prisoner” is “any person incarcerated or detained in any facility who is accused of, convicted of, sentenced for, or adjudicated delinquent for, violations of criminal law or the terms and conditions of parole, probation, pretrial release, or diversionary program.” 28 U.S.C. § 1915(h). A person detained and subject to removal or deportation, however, is not a “prisoner” under 1 In addition to a $350 fee, civil litigants, other than those granted leave to proceed IFP, must pay an additional administrative fee of $52. See 28 U.S.C. § 1914(a) (Judicial Conference Schedule of Fees, § 1915(h). Agyeman v. I.N.S., 296 F.3d 871, 886 (9th Cir. 2002); Ojo v. I.N.S., 106 F.3d 680, 682–83 (5th Cir.1997) (holding that a detainee of the Immigration and Naturalization Service is not a prisoner for purposes of the PLRA filing fee provision); cf. Andrews v. King, 398 F.3d 1113, 1122 (9th Cir 2005) (“[A] civil detainee is not a ‘prisoner’ within the meaning of the PLRA.”). In support of his IFP Motion, Plaintiff has provided a Prison Certificate authorized by an accounting officer. See IFP Mot. at 4. During the six months prior to filing suit, Plaintiff had an average monthly balance of $10.84 and average monthly deposits of $28.14, and Plaintiff had an available balance of $10.28 in his account at the time he filed suit. Id. If Plaintiff clearly met the definition of “prisoner” under 28 U.S.C. § 1915(h), the Court would grant Plaintiff’s motion to proceed IFP and assess an initial partial filing fee of $5.62, and Plaintiff would remain obligated to pay the remaining $344.38 in monthly installments even if this action were ultimately dismissed. Bruce, 577 U.S. at 84; 28 U.S.C. §§ 1915(b)(1) & (2). However, because it is unclear whether Plaintiff is currently an immigration detainee or whether he meets the definition of “prisoner” under 28 U.S.C. § 1915(h), it is unclear whether the filing fee provisions of 28 U.S.C. § 1915(b) are applicable to this case. Agyeman, 296 F.3d at 886. Therefore, the Court has reviewed Plaintiff’s affidavit of assets, just as it would for any other non-prisoner litigant seeking IFP status, and finds it is sufficient to show that Plaintiff is unable to pay the fees or post securities required to maintain a civil action. See S.D. Cal. CivLR 3.2(d). Accordingly, the Court GRANTS Plaintiff’s IFP Motion. If at a later stage of these proceedings it is determined that Plaintiff meets the definition of “prisoner” under 28 U.S.C. § 1915(h), however, the Court will impose the partial filing fee pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 1915(b)(2) and Plaintiff will remain obligated to pay the remaining balance in monthly installments even if this action is ultimately dismissed. / / / / / / / / / SCREENING OF THE COMPLAINT PURSUANT TO 28 U.S.C. § 1915(e)(2)(B) I. Standard of Review Irrespective of whether Plaintiff is a prisoner or a civil detainee, a complaint filed by any person proceeding IFP is subject to sua sponte dismissal if it is “frivolous, [is] malicious, fail[s] to state a claim upon which relief may be granted, or seek[s] monetary relief from a defendant immune from such relief.” 28 U.S.C. § 1915(e)(2)(B); Calhoun v. Stahl, 254 F.3d 845, 845 (9th Cir. 2001) (per curiam) (holding that “the provisions of 28 U.S.C. § 1915(e)(2)(B) are not limited to prisoners”); Lopez v. Smith, 203 F.3d 1122, 1127 (9th Cir. 2000) (en banc) (“[S]ection 1915(e) not only permits but requires a district court to dismiss an in forma pauperis complaint that fails to state a claim.”). “The standard for determining whether a plaintiff has failed to state a claim upon which relief can be granted under § 1915(e)(2)(B)(ii) is the same as the

Urmancheev v. United States, (S.D. Cal. 2022).

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