Jerome L. Grimes v. San Diego State University Library Security Guard; San Diego State University Campus Police Officer; San Diego State University Campus Police Department; and San Diego State University

Summary

The Southern District of California denies Jerome L. Grimes’s motion to proceed in forma pauperis under the Prison Litigation Reform Act’s three-strikes provision. The court finds that Plaintiff did not plausibly allege imminent danger of serious physical injury and dismisses the action without prejudice for failure to pay the statutory filing fee.

Holdings

1. A prisoner who has had three or more prior actions or appeals dismissed as frivolous, malicious, or for failure to state a claim may not proceed in forma pauperis in a subsequent civil action unless the statutory imminent-danger exception applies. The court found that Grimes had accumulated far more than three strikes.
2. A prisoner with three or more strikes may proceed in forma pauperis only by plausibly alleging imminent danger of serious physical injury at the time of filing, and the alleged danger must have a nexus to the unlawful conduct alleged in the complaint. Grimes did not satisfy that requirement.
3. After denying IFP status, the court dismissed the civil action without prejudice because plaintiff had not paid the full statutory and administrative filing fee required by 28 U.S.C. § 1914(a).

Questions Presented

1. Whether plaintiff was barred from proceeding in forma pauperis under the PLRA three-strikes provision, 28 U.S.C. § 1915(g).
2. Whether plaintiff plausibly alleged imminent danger of serious physical injury sufficient to invoke the exception to § 1915(g).
3. Whether the action should be dismissed without prejudice for failure to pay the required filing fee.

Disposition

dismissed