Smith, Derrick v. Mergendahl, Paul et al

Filing 2

ORDER on ifp request: Plaintiff to submit Trust fund account statement. Trust Fund Account Statement due 9/16/2013. Signed by Magistrate Judge Peter A. Oppeneer on 8/26/2013. (jef),(ps)

IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
FOR THE WESTERN DISTRICT OF WISCONSIN

DERRICK L. SMITH,
Plaintiff,

ORDER
13-cv-591-wmc

PAUL MERGENDAHL, et al.,
Defendants.

Plaintiff Derrick L. Smith, an inmate being held at the Marathon County Jail in
Wausau, Wisconsin, has filed a proposed civil action under 42 U.S.C. § 1983. With the
exception of habeas corpus proceedings, the fee for civil actions filed after May 1, 2013 is
$400 unless a litigant qualifies as indigent under the federal in forma pauperis statute, 28
U.S.C. § 1915, in which case the fee is $350. Plaintiff has neither paid the filing fee nor
requested leave to proceed in forma pauperis. For this case to proceed, plaintiff must pay the
$400 filing fee or submit a properly supported motion for leave to proceed in forma pauperis
no later than September 16, 2013.
In the event that he requests leave to proceed in forma pauperis, plaintiff is advised that
he must comply with the Prisoner Litigation Reform Act (PLRA), 28 U.S.C. § 1915(b),
which requires indigent inmates to pay by installment the entire filing fee for civil actions
and appeals. The federal in forma pauperis statute does not permit a court to waive a
prisoner’s entire obligation to pay filing fees, but it does allow a qualifying individual to
proceed without prepaying some or all of the filing fee. To determine whether plaintiff
qualifies as indigent, any motion for leave to proceed in forma pauperis must include a

certified copy of his inmate trust fund account statement (or institutional equivalent) for the
six-month period immediately preceding the date of his complaint. 28 U.S.C. § 1915(a)(2).
In his complaint, plaintiff states that he was released from the Columbia Correctional
Institution on August 6, 2013. Since plaintiff has been at the Marathon County Jail for such
a short time, he must write to the Columbia Correctional Institution to obtain a copy of a
six-month trust fund account statement that covers the six-month period preceding the filing
of his complaint.
ORDER
IT IS ORDERED that:
1.

No later than September 16, 2013, plaintiff Derrick L. Smith shall pay the
$400 filing fee or submit a properly supported motion for leave to proceed in
forma pauperis together with a certified copy of his inmate trust fund account
statement for the six-month period from the date of the complaint (August 14,
2013 through at least February 14, 2013).

2.

Plaintiff is advised that, if he fails to comply as directed or show cause
of his failure to do so, the court will assume that he does not wish to
proceed and this case will be dismissed without further notice pursuant
to Fed. R. Civ. P. 41(a).

Entered this 26th day of August, 2013.
BY THE COURT:

/s/
PETER OPPENEER
Magistrate Judge
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