Bonilla v. San Diego County Superior Court
Filing
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Order denying motion to proceed in forma pauperis (ECF 2 ), dismissing complaint and closing case. Signed by District Judge Andrew G. Schopler on 10/28/2024. (All non-registered users served via U.S. Mail Service) (smf)
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UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
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SOUTHERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA
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Steven Wayne BONILLA,
Plaintiff,
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vs.
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Case No.: 24-cv-1257-AGS-BLM
SAN DIEGO SUPERIOR COURT,
Defendant.
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ORDER DENYING MOTION TO
PROCEED IN FORMA PAUPERIS
(ECF 2), DISMISSING COMPLAINT
AND CLOSING CASE
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Steven Wayne Bonilla, an inmate suing defendants for civil-rights violations under
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42 U.S.C. § 1983, moves to proceed in forma pauperis. For the reasons below, that motion
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is denied, and the complaint is dismissed without prejudice.
DISCUSSION
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Typically, parties instituting a civil action in a United States district court must pay
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filing fees of $405. 1 See 28 U.S.C. § 1914(a). But if granted the right to proceed in forma
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pauperis, a plaintiff need not pay those fees. Rodriguez v. Cook, 169 F.3d 1176, 1177
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(9th Cir. 1999). Prisoners like Bonilla, however, “face an additional hurdle.” Moore v.
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Maricopa Cnty. Sheriff’s Office, 657 F.3d 890, 892 (9th Cir. 2011). To further “the
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congressional goal of reducing frivolous prisoner litigation in federal court,” prisoners
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cannot proceed IFP once they “have, while incarcerated, on 3 or more prior occasions had
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claims dismissed due to their frivolity, maliciousness, or failure to state a claim.” Tierney
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v. Kupers, 128 F.3d 1310, 1312 (9th Cir. 1997) (cleaned up); see also 28 U.S.C. § 1915(g)
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(“In no event shall a prisoner bring a civil action under this [IFP] section . . . if the prisoner
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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 $55 administrative fee
does not apply to persons granted leave to proceed without prepayment. Id.
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24-cv-1257-AGS-BLM
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has, on 3 or more prior occasions, while incarcerated or detained in any facility, brought
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an action . . . that was dismissed on the grounds that it is frivolous, malicious, or fails to
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state a claim upon which relief may be granted, unless the prisoner is under imminent
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danger of serious physical injury.”).
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When courts review a dismissal to determine whether it counts as one of these three
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strikes, “the style of the dismissal or the procedural posture is immaterial” because “the
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central question is whether the dismissal rang the PLRA [Prison Litigation Reform Act]
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bells of frivolous, malicious, or failure to state a claim.” El-Shaddai v. Zamora, 833 F.3d
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1036, 1042 (9th Cir. 2016) (cleaned up). Prior cases are considered strikes, then, “even if
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the district court styles such dismissal as a denial of the prisoner’s application to file the
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action without prepayment of the full filing fee.” O’Neal v. Price, 531 F.3d 1146, 1153
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(9th Cir. 2008). Defendants typically carry the initial burden to produce evidence
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demonstrating a prisoner is not entitled to proceed IFP for having three strikes, but “in
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some instances, the district court docket may be sufficient to show that a prior dismissal
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satisfies at least one of the criteria under § 1915(g) and therefore counts as a strike.”
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Andrews v. King, 398 F.3d 1113, 1120 (9th Cir. 2005).
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Bonilla, while incarcerated, has had dozens of prior prisoner civil actions dismissed
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on the grounds that they were frivolous, malicious, or failed to state a claim upon which
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relief may be granted, rendering him ineligible to proceed IFP. See United States v. Wilson,
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631 F.2d 118, 119 (9th Cir. 1980) (holding that “a court may take judicial notice of its own
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records in other cases, as well as the records of [different courts] in other cases”); see also
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Fed. R. Evid. 201(b)(2) (“The court may judicially notice a fact that is not subject to
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reasonable dispute because it can be accurately and readily determined from sources whose
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accuracy cannot reasonably be questioned.”). Indeed, in dismissing five civil actions for
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failing to state a claim, a previous court already informed Bonilla that under “28 U.S.C.
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§ 1915(g), he no longer qualifies to proceed in forma pauperis in any civil rights action.”
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In re Bonilla, Nos. C 11–6306 CW (PR), C 11–6307 CW (PR), C 12–0026 CW (PR), C
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12–0027 CW (PR), C 12–0206 CW (PR), 2012 WL 216401, at *3, n.1 (N.D. Cal. Jan. 24,
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24-cv-1257-AGS-BLM
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2012); see id. at *1 (noting Bonilla’s litigation history, including 34 pro se civil rights
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actions in the Northern District of California alone, which were dismissed “because the
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allegations in the complaints [did] not state a claim for relief under § 1983”).
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Nor does Bonilla meet the “imminent danger of serious physical injury” exception
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under 28 U.S.C. § 1915(g). Imminent danger requires an allegation that a harm is “ready
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to take place” or “hanging threateningly over one’s head.” Andrews v. Cervantes, 493 F.3d
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1047, 1056 (9th Cir. 2007) (cleaned up). That danger must also “stem[] from the violations
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of law alleged in [the] complaint.” Ray v. Lara, 31 F.4th 692, 701 (9th Cir. 2022). This
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“exception functions as a limited safety valve,” id., but it “cannot be triggered solely by
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complaints of past injury or generalized fears of possible future harm,” Hernandez v.
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Williams, No. 21-cv-347-MMA-KSC, 2021 WL 1317376, at *2 (S.D. Cal. Apr. 8, 2021)
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(cleaned up). Bonilla claims his arrest warrant was based on a false affidavit resulting in a
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void criminal judgment. (ECF 1, at 1–2.) Nothing in his complaint satisfies the imminent-
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danger exception.
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CONCLUSION
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Thus, Bonilla’s motion to proceed in forma pauperis (ECF 2) is DENIED as barred
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by 28 U.S.C. § 1915(g). The action is DISMISSED without prejudice for failure to pay
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the statutory and administrative civil filing fees required by 28 U.S.C. § 1914(a). The Clerk
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of Court is directed to close this case. The Court also “certifies in writing” that an in forma
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pauperis appeal of this Order would be frivolous and “not taken in good faith.” 28 U.S.C.
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§ 1915(a)(3).
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Dated: October 28, 2024
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Hon. Andrew G. Schopler
United States District Judge
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24-cv-1257-AGS-BLM
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