KWANZAA v. FENTON et al

Filing 2

ORDER Plaintiff's request to proceed IFP is DENIED. ORDERED Clerk shall administratively terminate this matter. ORDERED Clerk shall serve a copy of this Memorandum Opinion and Order upon Plaintiff, and shall enclose a blank IFP application form for prisoners. Signed by Judge Renee Marie Bumb on 1/7/2014. (bdk, )

NOT FOR PUBLICATION
UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
DISTRICT OF NEW JERSEY
________________________________
:
CHAKA KWANZAA,
:
: Civil Action No. 13-7612 (RMB)
Plaintiff,
:
:
v.
: MEMORANDUM OPINION AND ORDER
:
OFFICER S. FENTON, et al.,
:
:
Defendants.
:
_______________________________________
:

Plaintiff, confined at the Atlantic County Justice Facility,
Mays Landing, New Jersey, seeks to bring this civil action in
forma pauperis, without prepayment of fee, asserting claims
pursuant to 42 U.S.C. § 1983.
The Prison Litigation Reform Act of 1995 (the “Act”), which
amends 28 U.S.C. § 1915, establishes certain financial
requirements for prisoners who are attempting to bring a civil
action in forma pauperis.
Under the Act, a prisoner bringing a civil action in forma
pauperis must submit an affidavit, including a statement of all
assets, which states that the prisoner is unable to pay the fee.
See 28 U.S.C. § 1915(a)(1).

The prisoner also must submit a

certified copy of his inmate trust fund account statement for the
six-month period immediately preceding the filing of his
complaint.

See 28 U.S.C. § 1915(a)(2).

The prisoner must obtain

this statement from the appropriate official of each prison at
which he was or is confined.

See id.

The entire fee to be paid in advance of filing a civil
complaint is $400.

That fee includes a filing fee of $350 plus

an administrative fee of $50, for a total of $400.

A prisoner

who is granted in forma pauperis status will, instead, be
assessed a filing fee of $350 and will not be responsible for the
$50 administrative fee.

If in forma pauperis status is denied,

the prisoner must pay the full $400, including the $350 filing
fee and the $50 administrative fee, before the complaint will be
filed.
If the prisoner is granted in forma pauperis status, the
prisoner must pay the full amount of the $350 filing fee as
follows.

See 28 U.S.C. § 1915(b)(1).

In each month that the

amount in the prisoner’s account exceeds $10.00, until the
$350.00 filing fee is paid, the agency having custody of the
prisoner shall assess, deduct from the prisoner’s account, and
forward to the Clerk of the Court, payment equal to 20% of the
preceding month’s income credited to the prisoner’s account.

See

28 U.S.C. § 1915(b)(2).
Plaintiff may not have known when he submitted his complaint
that he must pay the filing fee, and that even if the full filing
fee, or any part of it, has been paid, the Court must dismiss the
case if it finds that the action is: (1) frivolous or malicious;

2

(2) fails to state a claim upon which relief may be granted; or
(3) seeks monetary relief against a defendant who is immune from
such relief.

See 28 U.S.C. § 1915(e)(2)(B).

If the Court

dismisses the case for any of these reasons, the Act does not
permit the prisoner to get his filing fee back.
If the prisoner has, on three or more prior occasions while
incarcerated, brought an action or appeal in a court that was
dismissed on any of the grounds listed above, he cannot bring
another action in forma pauperis unless he is in imminent danger
of serious physical injury.

See 28 U.S.C. § 1915(g).

In this action, Plaintiff failed to submit a complete in
forma pauperis application as required by 28 U.S.C. § 1915(a)(1),
(2), including a certified account statement.
THEREFORE, it is on this 7th day of January 2014;
ORDERED that Plaintiff’s request to proceed in forma
pauperis is hereby DENIED, without prejudice; and it is further
ORDERED that the Clerk shall administratively terminate this
matter by making a new and separate entry on the docket reading,
CIVIL CASE TERMINATED,” without filing the complaint or assessing
a filing fee; Plaintiff is informed that administrative
termination is not a “dismissal” for purposes of the statute of
limitations, and that if the case is reopened, it is not subject
to the statute of limitations time bar if it was originally filed
timely, see Jenkins v. Superintendent of Laurel Highlands, 705
3

F.3d 80, 84 n.2 (3d Cir. 2013) (describing prisoner mailbox rule
generally); Dasilva v. Sheriff’s Dept., 413 F. App'x 498, 502 (3d
Cir. 2011); and it is further
ORDERED that if Plaintiff wishes to reopen this case, he
shall include either (1) a complete, signed in forma pauperis
application, including a certified six-month prison account
statement, or (2) the $400 fee (including the $350 filing fee
plus the $50 administrative fee); and it is further
ORDERED that upon receipt of Plaintiff’s complete in forma
pauperis application or payment of the filing and administrative
fees within the time allotted by this Memorandum Opinion and
Order, this Court will direct the Clerk to reopen this matter and
screen Plaintiff’s complaint for sua sponte dismissal; and it is
finally
ORDERED that the Clerk shall serve a copy of this Memorandum
Opinion and Order upon Plaintiff by regular U.S. mail, and shall
enclose in said mailing a blank application form for prisoners
seeking to proceed in forma pauperis in a civil matter.
s/Renée Marie Bumb
RENÉE MARIE BUMB
United States District Judge

4