Joyner v. E A Conway/LSU et al

Filing 6

MEMORANDUM ORDER re 5 JOINT/VOLUNTARY MOTION to Dismiss filed by Tracey Joyner; Plaintiff'S request that the court order the prison to stop deducting any additional filing fees from his account is DENIED. ( Compliance Deadline set for 6/30/20 11.) Because the court has denied that request, plaintiff is given until June 30, 2011 to file a written notice that he wants to withdraw his motion to dismiss and continue prosecuting his complaint. Signed by Magistrate Judge Mark L Hornsby on 6/17/11. (crt,Delgado, S)

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
WESTERN DISTRICT OF LOUISIANA
SHREVEPORT DIVISION

TRACEY JOYNER

CIVIL ACTION NO. 11-cv-0361

VERSUS

JUDGE FOOTE

DR. FULLER, ET AL

MAGISTRATE JUDGE HORNSBY

MEMORANDUM ORDER
This is a civil rights complaint filed by Tracey Joyner, a self-represented prisoner.
Plaintiff was granted IFP status, and the court ordered that a portion of the filing fee be
deducted from Plaintiff’s prison account each month until the $350 filing fee has been paid
in full. Doc. 3.
Before the court is Plaintiff’s Motion to Dismiss (Doc. 5). In addition to a voluntary
dismissal, Plaintiff seeks an order directing the prison to stop taking any additional money
(filing fees) from his prisoner account.
Plaintiff’s request that the court order the prison to stop deducting any additional
filing fees from his account is denied. The Fifth Circuit has held that inmates are obligated
to pay the full filing fee for a complaint, and that obligation arises at the moment the lawsuit
is filed. Hatcher v. Nettles, 201 F.3d 651, 654 (5th Cir. 2000). No relief from an order
directing payment of the filing fee should be granted for a voluntary dismissal. Id. See also
Johnson v. Rhodes, 220 F.3d 587 (5th Cir. 2000)(the obligation to pay the filing fee remains

despite the disposition of the case). Accordingly, the dismissal of this case – whether
voluntary or not – will have no effect on this court’s order directing payment of the filing fee.
This result should come as no surprise to Plaintiff. The authorization attached to
Plaintiff’s Motion to Proceed In Forma Pauperis (Doc. 2) contains Plaintiff’s
acknowledgment that the filing fees “will be debited from my account regardless of the
outcome of my civil action.”
It is not clear whether Plaintiff’s Motion to Dismiss was conditioned on his request
that he no longer have to pay any additional money for his filing fee. Because the court has
denied that request, the court will give Plaintiff until June 30, 2011 to file a written notice
that he wants to withdraw his motion to dismiss and continue prosecuting his complaint.
Unless Plaintiff makes such a filing by June 30, 2011, the motion to dismiss will be granted
and this case will be closed.
THUS DONE AND SIGNED in Shreveport, Louisiana, this 17th day of June, 2011.

Page 2 of 2