White v. Godinez et al

Filing 21

MEMORANDUM AND ORDER DISMISSING CASE, Because the plaintiff has anabsolute right to dismiss this case at the present time, the Court finds that this action is DISMISSED without prejudice and DIRECTS the Clerk of Court to close this case.The voluntary dismissal of this case does not relieve Plaintiff of his responsibility to pay the $350.00 filing fee.Accordingly, the agency having custody of the plaintiff, is directed to remit the $350.00 filing fee from his prison trust fund account if such funds are available.The Clerk is DIRECTED to mail a copy of this Order to the Trust Fund Officer at the Pontiac Correctional Center upon entry of this Order. Signed by Judge J. Phil Gilbert on 1/18/2013. (jdh)

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
FOR THE SOUTHERN DISTRICT OF ILLINOIS
DONNIE D. WHITE,
Plaintiff,
v.

Case No. 12-cv-1124-JPG

SALVADOR GODINEZ, JESSE MONTGOMERY, TY BATES,
YOLANDE JOHNSON, MICHAEL THOMAS, JONES, LINDA
ELLIS, GREGORY LAMBERT, ROBIN DILLON, JOHN
BARWICK, APRIL MOORE, CONNIE HOUSTON, SALLY
RAMSEY, TOMA OSMAN, BONNIE SULLIVAN, JESSICA
MIDDLETON, TONYA LOVELESS, CARL MILLER, DANIEL
MONTI, JOHN BRANCHE, HOMER MARKEL, GENEVA
BONIFIELD, REBECCA ADAMS, SARAH ROBERTSON, JOSE
DELGADO, CHAD PARRISH, GEORGE HADEN, BILLY
VAUGHN, JAMES STUDER, JOSEPH DAVIS, ERIC PLOTT,
ROBERT BENNEFIELD, ANITA RAMSEY, DAVID TESKE,
ANITA ETHRIDGE, MICHAEL MCCLELLAND, PATRICK
FERGUSON, JAMES WATKINS, RICKY DAUGHERTY, COLE
CARTER, JARED BLESSING, JOHN ADAMS, KEITH GIBSON,
KYLE MASSEY, TORI BERNACHI, JEFFREY BUNDREN,
BRIAN HAMBY, CHRISTOPHER PHEMISTER, JASON
HANLOCK, CURTIS MOORE, NEALY FLAMM, CORY FUQUA,
GEORGE JOHNSON, LAURA MATHIS, RICHARD MILES, JEFF
PETERSON, MATTHEW PLUMMER, BARBARA RAUGUST,
STACY REESE, CIERRA SIMPSON, EUGENE SIMPSON, JAMIE
SISK, ANGELA SMITH, JUPITER JARED STAPLES, MELISSA
TESKE, KENNETH SMITH, RAYMOND MCCANN, CHERYL L
COUCH, CAROL BLACKMON, CATHERINE LARRY, WANDA
EVANS, MARVIN POWERS, NIGEL VINYARD, ANITRA
PARRISH, KATHIE BUTLER, DELORES LANIER, KIP
DILLOW, RHONNA MEDLIN, MARILYN MELTON, CAROL
GEORGE, CLAUDIA LESLIE, KALA SIMS, CAMILLE ADAMS,
SHELBY DUNN, MARY HILL, LAURA QUALIS and KRISSY
WATSON,
Defendant.

MEMORANDUM AND ORDER
This matter comes before the Court on the notice of voluntary dismissal (Doc. 20) pursuant
to Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 41(a)(1)(A)(i) filed by plaintiff Donnie D. White. Rule
41(a)(1)(A)(i) allows a plaintiff to dismiss an action without a court order at any time before the

opposing party serves an answer or a motion for summary judgment. The defendants have not
served an answer or motion for summary judgment in this case. Because the plaintiff has an
absolute right to dismiss this case at the present time, the Court finds that this action is
DISMISSED without prejudice and DIRECTS the Clerk of Court to close this case.
Previously, the undersigned Judge denied Plaintiff’s motion to proceed in forma pauperis
(“IFP”) in this matter (Doc. 17). The voluntary dismissal of this case does not relieve Plaintiff of
his responsibility to pay the $350.00 filing fee. A prisoner incurs the obligation to pay the filing
fee for a lawsuit when the suit is filed, and the obligation continues regardless of later
developments in the suit, such as dismissal of the suit or denial of leave to proceed IFP. See 28
U.S.C. § 1915(b)(1), (e)(2); Lucien v. Jockisch, 133 F.3d 464, 467-68 (7th Cir. 1998).
Accordingly, the agency having custody of the plaintiff, is directed to remit the $350.00 filing fee
from his prison trust fund account if such funds are available. If he does not have $350.00 in his
account, the agency must send 20% of the current balance or the average balance during the past
six months, whichever amount is higher; thereafter, the agency shall begin forwarding monthly
payments from the Plaintiff’s trust fund account to the Clerk of Court each time the Plaintiff’s
account exceeds $10.00 until the statutory fee of $350.00 is paid in its entirety. Payments shall be
mailed to: Clerk of the Court, United States District Court for the Southern District of Illinois, P.O.
Box 249, East St. Louis, Illinois 62202. The Clerk is DIRECTED to mail a copy of this Order to
the Trust Fund Officer at the Pontiac Correctional Center upon entry of this Order.
IT IS SO ORDERED.
DATED: January 18, 2013
s/ J. Phil Gilbert
J. PHIL GILBERT
DISTRICT JUDGE