(PC) Bazzo v. State of California ( 2023 )

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT 9 EASTERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA 10 11 FRANK MONACO BAZZO, No. 1:23-cv-01454-SAB (PC) 12 Plaintiff, ORDER DIRECTING CLERK OF COURT TO RANDOMLY ASSIGN A DISTRICT JUDGE 13 v. TO THIS ACTION 14 STATE OF CALIFORNIA, et al. FINDINGS AND RECOMMENDATION RECOMMENDING PLAINTIFF’S MOTION 15 Defendants. TO PROCEED IN FORMA PAUPERIS BE DENIED 16 (ECF Nos. 3, 9) 17 18 Plaintiff is proceeding pro se in this action filed pursuant to 42 U.S.C. § 1983. Plaintiff 19 filed the instant action on September 13, 2023, along with a motion to proceed in forma pauperis. 20 (ECF Nos. 1, 2.) Plaintiff’s prison trust statement was submitted on September 15, 2023. However, 21 on October 12, 2023, the Court ordered Plaintiff to submit an application to proceed in forma 22 pauperis by a prisoner. (ECF No. 7.) Plaintiff filed the proper motion to proceed in forma pauperis 23 on October 24, 2023. (ECF No. 9.) 24 I. 25 DISCUSSION 26 A. Application to Proceed In Forma Pauperis 27 28 U.S.C. § 1915(a)(1) permits a plaintiff to bring a civil action “without prepayment of 28 1 fees or security thereof” if the plaintiff submits a financial affidavit that demonstrates the plaintiff's 2 “is unable to pay such fees or give security therefor.” A prisoner seeking to bring a civil action 3 must, in addition to filing an affidavit, “submit a certified copy of the trust fund account statement 4 ... for the 6-month period immediately preceding the filing of the complaint ... obtained from the 5 appropriate official of each prison at which the prisoner is or was confined.” 28 U.S.C. § 1915(a)(2). 6 Plaintiff has filed an application declaring that, due to his poverty, he is unable to pre-pay 7 the full amount of fees and costs for these proceedings or give security therefor, and that he believes 8 that he is entitled to the relief sought in his complaint. On September 15, 2023, the Court received 9 Plaintiff’s prison trust account statement from Valley State Prison. (ECF No. 3.) The statement 10 provides that as of September 8, 2023, Plaintiff currently has $628.97 to his credit. Thus, the 11 available balance in Plaintiff’s account reflects that he can pay the $402.00 filing fee for this action. 12 Based on the foregoing, the information that Plaintiff has provided to the Court reflects that 13 he is financially able to pre-pay the entire filing fee to commence this action. Although the Ninth 14 Circuit Court of Appeals has held that “the filing fee ... should not take the prisoner's last dollar,” 15 Olivares v. Marshall, 59 F.3d 109, 112 (9th Cir. 1995), in these circumstances, it appears Plaintiff 16 has sufficient funds to pre-pay the $402.00 filing fee with money left over. Should Plaintiff have 17 additional information to provide the Court, or should his available balance change by the time he 18 receives this order, he may notify the Court. However, the Court has the authority to consider any 19 reasons and circumstances for any change in Plaintiff's available assets and funds. See Collier v. 20 Tatum, 722 F.2d 653, 656 (11th Cir. 1983) (district court may consider an unexplained decrease in 21 an inmate's trust account, or whether an inmate's account has been depleted intentionally to avoid 22 court costs). Therefore, Plaintiff's motion to proceed in forma pauperis must be denied. If Plaintiff 23 wishes to proceed with this action, Plaintiff must pre-pay the $402.00 filing fee in full. 24 II. 25 ORDER AND RECOMMENDATION 26 Based on the foregoing, it is HEREBY ORDERED that the Clerk of Court shall randomly 27 assign a District Judge to this action. 28 /// 1 Further, it is HEREBY RECOMMENDED that: 2 1. Plaintiff motion to proceed in forma pauperis (ECF No. 9) be denied; and 3 2. Plaintiff be directed to pay the $402.00 filing fee for this action. 4 These Findings and Recommendations will be submitted to the United States District Judge 5 | assigned to the case, pursuant to the provisions of 28 U.S.C. § 636(b)(). Within fourteen (14) 6 | days after being served with these Findings and Recommendations, Plaintiff may file written 7 | objections with the Court. The document should be captioned “Objections to Magistrate Judge’s 8 | Findings and Recommendations.” Plaintiff is advised that failure to file objections within the 9 | specified time may result in the waiver of rights on appeal. Wilkerson v. Wheeler, 772 F.3d 834, 10 | 838-39 (9th Cir. 2014) (citing Baxter v. Sullivan, 923 F.2d 1391, 1394 (9th Cir. 1991)). 11 b IT IS SO ORDERED. □□ (Se 13 | Dated: _October 25, 2023 _ _ PFA 4 UNITED STATES MAGISTRATE JUDGE 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28