William Joseph Taylor v. Tucker Lane

Summary

The United States District Court for the Eastern District of Tennessee grants William Joseph Taylor leave to proceed in forma pauperis. The court dismisses his § 1983 action against Tucker Lane as duplicative and malicious because Taylor had a pending action based on the same legal-mail withholding allegations. The court also assesses the statutory filing fee and certifies that an appeal would not be taken in good faith.

Holdings

1. The action was duplicative because it involved the same substantive legal-mail allegations as Taylor's earlier pending § 1983 action, leaving little or nothing to be determined in the present action.
2. Because Taylor's prior duplicative action remained pending, the court dismissed this action as malicious.
3. Taylor's motion to proceed in forma pauperis was granted, subject to payment of the statutory civil filing fee through deductions from his inmate trust account.

Questions Presented

1. Whether the complaint should be dismissed at PLRA screening because it duplicates a previously filed and still-pending action involving the same substantive allegations.
2. Whether a duplicative prisoner complaint may be dismissed as malicious when the earlier action remains pending.
3. Whether Taylor should be permitted to proceed in forma pauperis and have the filing fee collected under the PLRA.

Disposition

dismissed