Baker v. Macomber et al

Filing 182

ORDER signed by Magistrate Judge Allison Claire on 03/07/2023 DENYING the 181 Request for Reimbursement of Settlement Funds. (Spichka, K.)

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UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT

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FOR THE EASTERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA

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TIMOTHY RAY BAKER,

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Plaintiff,

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v.

No. 2:15-cv-0248 TLN AC P

ORDER

J. MACOMBER, et al.,

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Defendants.

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Plaintiff, a state prisoner proceeding pro se, was granted leave to proceed in forma

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pauperis in this case. ECF No. 10. On February 3, 2022, the parties filed a stipulation for

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voluntary dismissal and the case was closed. ECF Nos. 179, 180. Plaintiff has now filed a

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motion requesting that the court to reimburse $681.00 of settlement funds that were withdrawn

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from his prison trust account to pay his filing fees in this case and another case in this court. ECF

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No. 181.
As the court explained in granting plaintiff’s motion to proceed in forma pauperis, he was

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still required to pay the statutory filing fee of $350.00. ECF No. 10 at 1. Under 28 U.S.C.

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§ 1915(b)(2), plaintiff was “required to make monthly payments of 20 percent of the preceding

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month’s income credited to the [his] account . . . each time the amount in the account exceeds $10

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until the filing fees are paid.” Plaintiff was required to pay the entire filing fee regardless of the

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disposition of this case. In other words, plaintiff was still required to pay the filing fee even

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though this case was voluntarily dismissed.

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The motion for reimbursement and attached trust account statement reflect that in January

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2023, plaintiff received $5,000.00 in income in the form of a settlement check. ECF No. 181 at 1,

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5. Twenty percent of $5,000.00 is $1,000.00, so the California Department of Corrections and

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Rehabilitation (CDCR) was authorized to send the court the remaining balance of any filing fees

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in this case up to $1,000.00. See ECF No. 11 (authorizing the CDCR to make withdrawals from

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plaintiff’s trust account). This limit applies per case, not to the cases plaintiff has before the court

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collectively. Because the filing fee was $350.00, any remaining balance fell well within the

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amount permitted to be withdrawn by 28 U.S.C. § 1915. There is no indication that the portion of

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the $681.00 attributable to this case resulted in paying more than the $350.00 filing fee in this

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matter, and it therefore appears that the funds were properly withdrawn to satisfy plaintiff’s

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outstanding filing fees.

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Accordingly, IT IS HEREBY ORDERED that plaintiff’s request for reimbursement of

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settlement funds (ECF No. 181) is DENIED.

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DATE: March 7, 2023

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