(PC) Jenkins v. McKay ( 2020 )

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT 9 EASTERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA 10 11 EPHRAIM JENKINS, Case No. 1:20-cv-00118-AWI-SKO (PC) 12 Plaintiff, ORDER DENYING MOTION FOR RELIEF 13 v. FROM FILING FEE PAYMENTS 14 J. MCKAY, et al., (Doc. 15) 15 Defendants. 16 17 Plaintiff Ephraim Jenkins is a state prisoner proceeding in forma pauperis. On June 17, 18 2020, Plaintiff filed a notice of voluntary dismissal pursuant to Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 19 41(a)(1), and the Court subsequently closed this case. (Docs. 13, 14.) On July 23, 2020, Plaintiff 20 filed a motion requesting relief from the filing fee payments required by 28 U.S.C. § 1915(b). 21 (Doc. 15.) 22 Prisoners proceeding in forma pauperis are “required to pay the full amount of a filing 23 fee” of any civil action they initiate. 28 U.S.C. § 1915(b)(1). The in forma pauperis statute 24 provides that prisoners “shall be required to pay the full amount of a filing fee,” and the “court 25 shall assess and … collect … an initial partial filing fee of 20 percent” of the average monthly 26 deposits or average monthly balance in the prisoner’s trust account. 28 U.S.C. § 1915(b)(1) 27 (emphasis added). Additionally, “the prisoner shall be required to make monthly payments of 20 1 Therefore, according to the statute, the Court does not have discretion to waive the filing 2 fee. The filing fee obligations and payment amounts are mandatory. See, e.g., Soares v. Paramo, 3 No. 3:13-cv-02971-BTM-RBB, 2018 WL 5962728, at *2 (S.D. Cal. 2018); Cartwright v. Sparks, 4 No. 1:94-cv-06044-AWI, 2012 WL 394175, at *1 (E.D. Cal. 2012); Adams v. Maricopa Cty. 5 Sheriff's Office, No. 2:10-cv-01558-PHX-RCB, 2010 WL 4269528, at *1-2 (D. Ariz. 2010). 6 Accordingly, the Plaintiff’s motion is DENIED. 7 IT IS SO ORDERED. 8 Sheila K. Oberto 9 Dated: July 27, 2020 /s/ . UNITED STATES MAGISTRATE JUDGE 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27