BASKERVILLE v. STAPLETON et al

Filing 8

MEMORANDUM AND ORDER that the Clerk shall ADMINISTRATIVELY TERMINATE this case, without filing the complaint or assessing a filing fee. The Clerk shall send Plaintiff the form entitled Affidavit of Poverty and Account Certification (Civil Rig hts)(DNJ ProSe 007 A(Rev. 5/13)) to be used by Plaintiff in any future application to proceed informa pauperis. Plaintiff wishes to reopen this case, he shall so notify the Court, in writing addressed to the Clerk of the Court; etc. Signed by Judge Claire C. Cecchi on 7/29/15. (sr, )

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
DISTRICT OF NEW JERSEY
MARTiN LUTHER BASKERVILLE JR.,
Plaintiff,
v.

Civil Action No. 13-1750 (CCC)
$

MEMORANDUM AND ORDER

LT. JAMES STAPLETON, et al.,
Defendants.

Plaintiff Martin Luther Baskerville, Jr., a prisoner currently confined at Northern State
Prison in Newark, New Jersey, seeks to bring this civil action in forma pauperis, withou
t
prepayment of fees or security, asserting claims pursuant to 42 U.S.C.

§ 1983. The Court

previously denied his initial in forma pauperis application for failure to submit a six-month
account statement for the six-month period immediately preceding the filing of his Complaint.
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 informapauperis must submit an affidavit,
including a statement of all assets, which states that the prisoner is unable to pay the fee. 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. 28 U.S.C.

§ 191 5(a)(2). The prisoner must obtain this statement from the appropriate official of each prison
at which he was or is confined. 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
informa pauperis status will, instead, be assessed a filing fee of $350 and will not be responsible
for the $50 administrative fee. Ifinformapauperis 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 informapauperis status, the prisoner must pay the full amount of
the $350 filing fee as follows. 22 U.S.C.

§ 19l5(b)(l). 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.
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: (I) 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.

§ 191 5(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.
Here, Plaintiff again failed to submit a complete informa pauperis application as required
by 28 U.S.C.

§ 1915(a). Specifically, he failed to submit a certified six month prison account

statement. See 28 U.S.C.

§ 1915(a)(2). Plaintiff submitted an account statement dating from

November 6, 2013 through May 20, 2014, although the filing date of his Complaint was March
20, 2013. This does not satisfy the statutory requirement of a six month statement immediately

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preceding the filing ofhis Complaint, i.e. the six-month period immediately preceding March 20,
2013, not the six-month period immediately preceding the informa pauperis application.
THEREFORE, it is on this

of

-

,

2015;

ORDERED that Plaintiffs request to proceed in forma pauperis is hereby DENIED
WITHOUT PREJUDICE; it is further
ORDERED that the Clerk of the Court shall ADMINISTRATIVELY TERMINATE this
case, 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 F.3d 80, 84 n.2 (3d Cir. 2013) (describing
prisoner mailbox rule generally); Dasilva v. Sherffs Dep ‘t, 413 F. App’x 498, 502 (3d Cir. 2011)
(“[The] statute of limitations is met when a complaint is submitted to the clerk before the statute
runs

....“);

it is further

ORDERED that the Clerk of the Court shall send Plaintiff the form entitled Affidavit of
Poverty and Account Certification (Civil Rights)(DNJ ProSe 007 A(Rev. 5/13)) to be used by
Plaintiff in any future application to proceed informapauperis; it is further
ORDERED that if Plaintiff wishes to reopen this case, he shall so notify the Court, in
writing addressed to the Clerk of the Court, Martin Luther King Building & U.S. Courthouse, 50
Walnut Street, Newark, NJ 071018, within 30 days of the date of entry of this Order; Plaintiffs
writing 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; it is further
ORDERED that upon receipt of a writing from Plaintiff stating that he wishes to reopen
this case, and either a complete in forma pauperis application or payment of the filing and
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administrative fees within the time allotted by this Court, the Clerk of the Court will be directed
to reopen this case; and it is finally
ORDERED that the Clerk of the Court shall serve a copy of this Order upon Plaintiff by
regular U.S. mail.

Claire C. Cecchi, U.S.D.J.

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