Miles v. Director - Bureau of Prisons et al

Filing 11

ORDER overruling 10 Objection to Report and Recommendation; adopting 9 Report and Recommendation; dismissing without prejudice 1 Complaint; denying as moot 2 Application to Proceed in District Court Without Prepaying Fees or Costs and 6 Motion to Alter/Amend/Supplement Pleadings/Appoint Counsel (Written Opinion). Signed by Judge Susan Richard Nelson on 7/15/2021. (avt)

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
DISTRICT OF MINNESOTA
Kelvin Jerome Miles,

Case No. 21-cv-00932 (SRN/HB)

Plaintiff,
ORDER

v.
Director – Bureau of Prisons; Bureau of
Prisons; and S. Warden Kallis, Federal
Medical Center,
Defendants.

Kelvin Jerome Miles, Reg. No. 45410-007, FMC Rochester, P.O. Box 4000, Rochester,
MN 55903, Pro Se.
SUSAN RICHARD NELSON, United States District Judge
This matter is before the Court on Plaintiff Kelvin Jerome Miles’ Objection [Doc.
No. 10] to United States Magistrate Judge Hildy Bowbeer’s May 24, 2021 Report and
Recommendation [Doc. No. 9] (“R&R”). The magistrate judge recommended that this
action be dismissed without prejudice for failure to prosecute, and that Miles’ pending
Application to Proceed in District Court Without Prepaying Fees or Costs [Doc. No. 2] and
Motion to Amend Complaint [Doc. No. 6] be denied as moot. For the reasons set forth
below, Miles’ Objection is overruled, the Court adopts the R&R in its entirety, dismisses
this matter without prejudice, and denies the pending motions as moot.

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I.

BACKGROUND
Miles filed his Complaint on April 5, 2021, alleging that he has been denied release

to home detention due to discrimination. (Compl. [Doc. No. 1].) On the same day, Miles
filed an application to proceed in forma pauperis. (Appl. to Proceed IFP [Doc. No. 2].) The
Court, in an April 7, 2021 Order, directed Miles to pay an initial filing fee of $350.
Applying the framework provided by the Prison Litigation Reform Act of 1995, the Court
found that because Miles’ trust account held an average balance of $2,302.27—which
exceeded his average monthly deposits—Miles is statutorily required to pay an initial
partial filing fee of $350. (Order [Doc. No. 3].) As the Court explained, even if Miles were
granted IFP status, he would still be required to pay this sum. (See id. at 2.) The Court
warned Miles that failure to pay the fee within twenty days would result in the dismissal
of this action for failure to prosecute. The Court also advised Miles of several shortcomings
in his Complaint, which rendered the Complaint unlikely to survive review under 28 U.S.C.
§ 1915A. Thereafter, Miles moved to amend his complaint. (Mot. to Amend Compl. [Doc.
No. 6].) On April 21, 2021, the Court extended the deadline for Miles to pay the initial
filing fee, and again warned him that the matter would not go forward without payment of
the fee. (Order [Doc. No. 8].)
On May 24, 2021, the magistrate judge noted that Miles had not paid the fee, and
had not communicated with the Court since the Court extended the payment deadline.
Accordingly, the magistrate judge recommended dismissing this action without prejudice
under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 41(b). Miles filed an Objection, asserting that
COVID-19 has made his conditions of confinement life-threatening; arguing that he need
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not exhaust his administrative remedies, under Jones v. Bock, 549 U.S. 199 (2007); and
asking the Court to permit him to pay the filing fee in installments. Miles’ Objection is
now before the Court.
II.

ANALYSIS
The district court reviews de novo those portions of the R&R to which a specific

objection is made and “may accept, reject, or modify, in whole or in part, the findings or
recommendations made by the magistrate judge.” 28 U.S.C. § 636(b)(1); accord D. Minn.
L.R. 72.2(b). “Objections which are not specific but merely repeat arguments presented to
and considered by a magistrate judge are not entitled to de novo review, but rather are
reviewed for clear error.” Montgomery v. Compass Airlines, LLC, 98 F. Supp. 3d 1012,
1017 (D. Minn. 2015). Because Miles proceeds pro se, the Court liberally construes his
pleadings. Frey v. Schuetzle, 78 F.3d 359, 361 (8th Cir. 1996).
“A district court has discretion to dismiss an action under Rule 41(b) for a plaintiff's
failure to prosecute, or to comply with the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure or any court
order.” Henderson v. Renaissance Grand Hotel, 267 F. App’x 496, 497 (8th Cir. 2008)
(per curiam). As the Court explained in its April 7, 2021 Order, the Prison Litigation
Reform Act requires Miles to pay a $350 filing fee even if he is granted IFP status. See 28
U.S.C. § 1915(b); Ashley v. Dilworth, 147 F.3d 715, 716 (8th Cir. 1998) (“The purpose of
the Act was to require all prisoner-litigants to pay filing fees in full, with the only issue
being whether the inmate pays the entire filing fee at the initiation of the proceeding or in
installments over a period of time.”). Payment of this fee is statutorily required, and the
magistrate judge correctly recommended that Miles’ failure to pay the fee—despite two
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court orders warning him that the action cannot go forward until he pays the fee—result in
the dismissal of this action without prejudice. See 28 U.S.C. § 1915(b)(1) (“The court shall
assess and, when funds exist, collect . . . an initial partial filing fee . . . .” (emphasis
added)).
Regarding Miles’ specific objections, the Court is sympathetic to the medical risks
Miles faces due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Miles has not explained, however, how those
risks have impacted his ability to pay the filing fee required by the statute. Nor does Miles’
assertion that he is not required to exhaust his administrative remedies bear on the statutory
filing fee requirement. Finally, concerning Miles’ request to pay the filing fee in
installments, it is true that the Prison Litigation Reform Act permits a partial payment of
the initial filing fee, the remainder to be paid through installments. See 28 U.S.C.
§ 1915(b)(2). But the Court previously examined Miles’ trust account balance and monthly
deposits, and concluded that, because Miles’ account reflected no monthly deposits but an
average balance of $2,302.27, the statutorily required partial payment is $350. (See Order
[Doc. No. 3], at 3.) Because the required partial payment is the entire filing fee, there is no
remainder that may be paid through installments. Miles has not indicated that his trust
account balance and deposits have materially changed since the Court’s April 7, 2021
analysis.
Accordingly, the Court finds that the magistrate judge correctly recommended
dismissing this action, without prejudice, for failure to prosecute. Consequently, Miles’
Application to Proceed in District Court Without Prepaying Fees or Costs and Motion to
Amend Complaint are denied as moot.
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III.

CONCLUSION
Based on the submissions and the entire file and proceedings herein, IT IS

HEREBY ORDERED that:
1. Plaintiff’s Objection to the Report and Recommendation [Doc. No. 10] is
OVERRULED;
2. The Report and Recommendation [Doc. No. 9] is ADOPTED;
3. Plaintiff’s Complaint [Doc. No. 1] is DISMISSED without prejudice; and
4. Plaintiff’s Application to Proceed in District Court Without Prepaying Fees
or Costs [Doc. No. 2] and Motion to Amend Complaint [Doc. No. 6] are
DENIED as moot.
LET JUDGMENT BE ENTERED ACCORDINGLY.

Dated: July 15, 2021

s/Susan Richard Nelson
SUSAN RICHARD NELSON
United States District Judge

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