Rowan v. Workers' Compensation/Rowan Law Firm et al

Filing 8

ORDER DISMISSING CASE WITHOUT PREJUDICE AND ASSESSING CIVIL FILING FEE. Signed by Judge James D. Todd on 7/1/15. (Todd, James)

IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
FOR THE WESTERN DISTRICT OF TENNESSEE
WESTERN DIVISION
BRENT A. ROWAN,
Plaintiff,
VS.
WORKERS’ COMPENSATION/
ROWAN LAW FIRM, ET AL.,
Defendants.

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No. 15-2206-JDT-tmp

ORDER DISMISSING CASE WITHOUT PREJUDICE
AND ASSESSING CIVIL FILING FEE

On March 23, 2015, Plaintiff, Brent A. Rowan, booking number 15102052, a pretrial
detainee at the Shelby County Criminal Justice Complex (“Jail”) in Memphis, Tennessee,
filed a pro se complaint pursuant to 42 U.S.C. § 1983. (ECF No. 1.) Because Plaintiff is a
“three strike” filer and the case does not come within the exception to 28 U.S.C. § 1915(g),
the Court issued an order on May 15, 2015, denying leave to proceed in forma pauperis and
directing Plaintiff to pay the $400 civil filing fee within 28 days. (ECF No. 3.) The order
further stated that “[f]ailure to do so will result in the dismissal of this action for failure to
prosecute . . . and assessment of the civil filing fee in a lump sum.” (Id. at 3.)
To date, Plaintiff has not paid the civil filing fee, and the time within which to do so
has expired. Therefore, this case is DISMISSED WITHOUT PREJUDICE pursuant to Rule
41(b) of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure.

Notwithstanding the dismissal of this action, the Court is still required to assess the
civil filing fee, since the responsibility for paying the filing fee accrues at the time a
complaint is filed. McGore v. Wrigglesworth, 114 F.3d 601, 607 (6th Cir. 1997), partially
overruled on other grounds by LaFountain v. Harry, 716 F.3d 944, 951 (6th Cir. 2013); cf.
In re Alea, 286 F.3d 378, 381-82 (6th Cir. 2002) (dismissal of civil action filed by prisoner
pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 1915(g) did not obviate the obligation to pay the filing fee).
It is ORDERED that Plaintiff cooperate fully with prison officials in carrying out this
order. It is further ORDERED that the trust fund officer at Plaintiff’s prison shall withdraw
from Plaintiff's trust fund account the sum of $400 and forward that amount to the Clerk of
this Court. If the funds in Plaintiff’s account are insufficient to pay the full amount of the
civil filing fee, the prison official is instructed to withdraw all of the funds in Plaintiff’s
account and forward them to the Clerk of Court. On each occasion that funds are
subsequently credited to Plaintiff’s account, the prison official shall immediately withdraw
those funds and forward them to the Clerk of Court, until the civil filing fee is paid in full.
The trust fund officer is not required to remit any balance less than $10, unless that amount
would constitute the final installment of the civil filing fee, provided that any balance under
$10 is held in custody for purposes of paying the civil filing fee in this action and is promptly
remitted to the Clerk when sufficient funds are deposited into Plaintiff’s account to bring the
balance to $10.
Each time that the trust fund officer makes a payment to the Court as required by this
order, he shall print a copy of the prisoner’s account statement showing all activity in the
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account since the last payment under this order and file it with the Clerk along with the
payment. All payments and account statements shall be sent to:
Clerk, United States District Court,Western District of Tennessee
167 N. Main, Room 242, Memphis, TN 38103
and shall clearly identify Plaintiff’s name and the case number on the first page of this order.
If Plaintiff is transferred to a different prison or released, he is ORDERED to notify
the Court immediately of his change of address. If still confined, he shall provide the
officials at the new prison with a copy of this order.
The Clerk shall mail a copy of this order to the prison official in charge of prison trust
fund accounts at the Jail. The Clerk is further ORDERED to forward a copy of this order to
the Jail Director to ensure that the custodian of Plaintiff’s inmate trust account complies with
that portion of the PLRA pertaining to the payment of filing fees.
The Clerk is directed to prepare a judgment.
IT IS SO ORDERED.
s/ James D. Todd
JAMES D. TODD
UNITED STATES DISTRICT JUDGE

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