Robert D. Johnson v. Ana Mondet, Scott Steadman, H. Mosely, Brian Wilfong, Ronald Bates, Jessica Lewis, James Hill, Patrick O'Neill

Summary

The United States District Court for the Southern District of California denied Robert D. Johnson’s motion to proceed in forma pauperis because he did not provide a certified trust-account statement covering the preceding six months. The court dismissed the civil rights action without prejudice and allowed 45 days to pay the filing fees or submit a properly supported renewed IFP motion.

Holdings

1. A prisoner seeking to proceed in forma pauperis must submit an affidavit of assets and a certified copy of the prison trust-account statement for the six-month period preceding the filing of the complaint; failure to provide the certified statement renders the IFP motion incomplete.
2. When a prisoner's IFP motion is denied and the filing fee is not paid, the action cannot proceed and may be dismissed without prejudice, subject to reopening if the plaintiff timely pays the fee or files a properly supported renewed IFP motion.

Questions Presented

1. Whether Plaintiff satisfied the statutory requirements for proceeding in forma pauperis as a prisoner.
2. Whether the action should be dismissed without prejudice when Plaintiff failed to pay the filing fee or submit the required certified trust-account statement.

Disposition

dismissed