Lynch v. United States of America

Filing 4

Magistrate Judge Marianne B. Bowler: PROCEDURAL ORDER entered. Within 21 days of this Procedural Order, plaintiff either shall (1) pay the $50.00 administrative fee; or (2) file an application to proceed in forma pauperis accompanied by a certi fied prison account statement. The Clerk shall issue a summons as to the United States of America and mail it to Plaintiff who shall serve it in accordance with Fed. R. Civ. P. 4 and Local Rule 4.1. The Clerk mailed a copy of this Procedural Order to plaintiff with (1) a blank Application to Proceed in District Court Without Prepaying Fees or Costs; and (2) the form for Consent/Refusal of Magistrate Judge Jurisdiction and the instructions for that form ("consent package"). (Attachments: # 1 consent package, # 2 IFP application)(PSSA, 4)

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
DISTRICT OF MASSACHUSETTS
DANIEL LYNCH,
Plaintiff,
v.

CIVIL ACTION NO.
14-10656-MBB

UNITED STATES OF AMERICA,
Defendant.
PROCEDURAL ORDER
March 26, 2014
BOWLER, U.S.M.J.
On March 6, 2014, Plaintiff, now detained at FMC Devens,
filed this civil action and submitted from his prison account a
$350.00 payment towards the filing and administrative fees.
A party bringing a civil action must either (1) pay the
$350.00 filing fee and the $50.00 administrative fee1, see 28 U.S.C.
§ 1914(a); or (2) seek leave to proceed without prepayment of the
filing fee, see 28 U.S.C. § 1915 (proceedings in forma pauperis).
Where the plaintiff is a prisoner, a motion for waiver of
prepayment of the filing fee must be accompanied by “a certified
copy of the trust fund account statement (or institutional
equivalent) for the prisoner for the 6-month period immediately
preceding the filing of the complaint . . . obtained from the
appropriate official of each prison at which the prisoner is or was

1

The $50.00 administrative fee became effective May 1, 2013; it
does not apply to persons proceeding in forma pauperis. See Judicial
Conference Fee Schedule.

confined.”

28 U.S.C. § 1915(a)(2).2

Because Plaintiff has not requested leave to proceed in forma
pauperis, the $50.00 administrative fee applies to this case.
Plaintiff will be granted additional time to either pay the $50.00
administrative fee or file an Application to Proceed in District
Court Without Prepayment of Fees and Costs.

Parties granted leave

to proceed in forma pauperis are not obligated to pay the $50
administrative fee and may elect to have service of the summons and
complaint made by the United States Marshals Service with all costs
of service to be advanced by the United States.

Upon review of the plaintiff's pleadings, it is hereby
ORDERED that:
(1)

Within 21 days of this Procedural Order, plaintiff either
shall (1) pay the $50.00 administrative fee; or (2) file
an application to proceed in forma pauperis accompanied
by a certified prison account statement. Failure of the
plaintiff to comply with this directive may result in the
dismissal of this action.

(2)

The Clerk shall provide the plaintiff with (1) a blank
Application to Proceed in District Court Without
Prepaying Fees or Costs; and (2) the form for
Consent/Refusal of Magistrate Judge Jurisdiction and
the instructions for that form ("consent package").3

2

Unlike other civil litigants, prisoner plaintiffs are not
entitled to a complete waiver of the filing fee, notwithstanding the
grant of in forma pauperis status. Based on the information contained
in the prison account statement, the Court will direct the appropriate
prison official to withdraw an initial partial payment from the
plaintiff’s account, followed by payments on a monthly basis until the
entire $350.00 filing fee is paid in full. See 28 U.S.C.
§ 1915(b)(1)-(2).
3

This action was randomly assigned to this Court pursuant to the
District Court's Consent Program.

2

(3)

The Clerk shall issue a summons as to the United States
of America and mail it to Plaintiff who shall serve it
in accordance with Fed. R. Civ. P. 4 and Local Rule
4.1.

SO ORDERED.
/s/ Marianne B. Bowler, USMJ
MARIANNE B. BOWLER
United States Magistrate Judge

3