Summary
The Ninth Circuit denied petitions for panel rehearing and rehearing en banc in consolidated appeals involving whether multiple in forma pauperis prisoner-plaintiffs joining under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 20 must each pay the full filing fee under the Prison Litigation Reform Act. Judge W. Fletcher, joined by Judge Graber, respectfully disagreed with the denial of rehearing en banc, arguing that the PLRA requires a single filing fee for a joint action and that the panel majority’s contrary interpretation was inconsistent with statutory text, legislative intent, Supreme Court authority, and practical considerations.
Topics
Practice areas
Questions Presented
- Whether panel rehearing should be granted.
- Whether rehearing en banc should be granted where the petition failed to receive a majority vote of the nonrecused active judges.
- Whether the Prison Litigation Reform Act requires each in forma pauperis prisoner-plaintiff in a joint Rule 20 action to pay a separate $350 filing fee.
Holdings
- The petitions for panel rehearing and rehearing en banc were denied.
Key quotations
“The petition for panel rehearing and rehearing en banc is DENIED.” (at 3)
“In short, because the plaintiffs are poor, they pay more.” (at 4)
“The natural combined reading of §§ 1914(a) and 1915(b) is that when multiple IFP prisoner-plaintiffs join in a single civil action under the PLRA, the total filing fee is $350.” (at 6–7)
“The PLRA is silent on the issue whether multiple IFP prisoner-plaintiffs joined under Rule 20 should each pay a filing fee of $350.” (at 11)
Factual background
The underlying litigation involved prisoner-plaintiffs proceeding in forma pauperis and joining together under Rule 20 in a civil action. The underlying panel decision held that each prisoner-plaintiff owed a separate $350 filing fee under the Prison Litigation Reform Act. In the statement respecting denial of rehearing en banc, Judge W. Fletcher argued that the statute instead requires only one $350 filing fee for the single joint action.
Procedural history
The Ninth Circuit panel held that the Prison Litigation Reform Act requires each prisoner-plaintiff proceeding in forma pauperis in a joint Rule 20 action to pay the full $350 filing fee. The plaintiffs petitioned for panel rehearing and rehearing en banc. The panel denied rehearing, and the en banc petition failed to receive a majority of the votes of the nonrecused active judges.