BERROA v. SUMNER et al
Filing
6
OPINION. Signed by Judge Noel L. Hillman on 10/10/17. (jbk, )
UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
DISTRICT OF NEW JERSEY
______________________________
:
:
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Plaintiff,
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v.
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:
KITCHEN OFFICER SUMNER,
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et al.,
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Defendants.
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______________________________:
HARRY BERROA,
Civ. No. 17-4910 (NLH)
OPINION
APPEARANCES:
Harry Berroa
62268-066
Fort Dix
Federal Correctional Institution
Inmate Mail/Parcels
East: P.O. Box 2000
Fort Dix, NJ 08640
Plaintiff Pro se
HILLMAN, District Judge
Plaintiff Harry Berroa, an inmate confined at the Federal
Correctional Institution in Fort Dix, New Jersey at the time of
filing, seeks to bring this civil action in forma pauperis,
without prepayment of fees or security, asserting claims
pursuant to Bivens v. Six Unknown Named Agents, 403 U.S. 388
(1971).
When he initially filed his Complaint, he failed to
submit an in forma pauperis application and the Court
administratively terminated this matter.
Plaintiff has since filed an application.
(ECF Nos. 2, 3.)
(ECF No. 4.)
Pursuant to Local Civil Rule 54.3, the Clerk shall not be
required to enter any suit, file any paper, issue any process,
or render any other service for which a fee is prescribed,
unless the fee is paid in advance.
Under certain circumstances,
however, this Court may permit an indigent plaintiff to proceed
in forma pauperis.
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.
A prisoner who is denied in forma
pauperis status must pay the full $400, including the $350
filing fee and the $50 administrative fee, before the complaint
will be filed.
Title 28 U.S.C. § 1915, establishes certain financial
requirements for prisoners who are attempting to bring a civil
action in forma pauperis.
Under § 1915, a prisoner seeking to
bring a civil action in forma pauperis must submit an affidavit,
including a statement of all assets and liabilities, which
states that the prisoner is unable to pay the fee.
1915(a)(1).
28 U.S.C. §
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.
2
28 U.S.C. §
1915(a)(2).
The prisoner must obtain this certified statement
from the appropriate official of each correctional facility at
which he was or is confined during such six-month period.
Id.
If the prisoner is granted in forma pauperis status, the
prisoner must pay the full amount of the $350 filing fee, in
installments, as follows.
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 an installment
payment equal to 20% of the preceding month’s income credited to
the prisoner’s account.
28 U.S.C. § 1915(b)(2).
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: (1) is frivolous or malicious; (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.
28
U.S.C. § 1915(e)(2)(B) (in forma pauperis actions); see also 28
U.S.C. § 1915A (dismissal of actions in which prisoner seeks
redress from a governmental defendant); 42 U.S.C. § 1997e
(dismissal of prisoner actions brought with respect to prison
conditions).
If the Court dismisses the case for any of these
reasons, § 1915 does not suspend installment payments of the
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filing fee or permit the prisoner to get back the filing fee, or
any part of it, that has already been paid.
If the prisoner has, on three or more prior occasions while
incarcerated, brought in federal court an action or appeal that
was dismissed on the grounds that it was frivolous or malicious,
or that it failed to state a claim upon which relief may be
granted, he cannot bring another action in forma pauperis unless
he is in imminent danger of serious physical injury.
28 U.S.C.
§ 1915(g).
In this action, Plaintiff did not submit a six month
account statement.
Though he submitted a certification from a
prison official, he only submitted a summary of the activity in
his account for six months.
(ECF No. 5.)
Without a copy of
Plaintiff's full trust fund account statement which shows each
individual transaction, the Court lacks sufficient information
to exercise its discretion as to whether Plaintiff meets the
requirements for in forma pauperis status. 1
See 28 U.S.C. §
1915(a)(2); see also Shahin v. Sec'y of Delaware, 532 F. App'x
123 (3d Cir. 2013) (citing United States v. Holiday, 436 F.2d
1079, 1079–80 (3d Cir. 1971)) (“granting of application to
1
A complete account statement is especially needed in this case
where the summary states that he has had over $1100 in deposits in
the past six months. (ECF No. 5.)
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proceed IFP is committed to sound discretion of district
court”).
CONCLUSION
For the reasons set forth above, the Clerk of the Court will
be ordered to administratively terminate this action, without
filing the Complaint or assessing a filing fee. 2
Plaintiff will
be granted leave to apply to re-open within 45 days.
An
appropriate Order follows.
Dated: October 10, 2017
At Camden, New Jersey
s/ Noel L. Hillman
NOEL L. HILLMAN, U.S.D.J.
2
Such an administrative termination is not a “dismissal” for
purposes of the statute of limitations, and if the case is reopened pursuant to the terms of the accompanying Order, it is not
subject to the statute of limitations time bar if it was originally
submitted timely.
See Houston v. Lack, 487 U.S. 266 (1988)
(prisoner mailbox rule); Papotto v. Hartford Life & Acc. Ins. Co.,
731 F.3d 265, 275-76 (3d Cir. 2013) (collecting cases and
explaining that a District Court retains jurisdiction over, and
can re-open, administratively closed cases).
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