Sekona v. Gutierrez

Background

On or about December 4, 2023, Etuate Sekona filed this pro se action under 42 U.S.C. § 1983 against Gutierrez, identified as an officer at Salinas Valley State Prison. The opinion states that Sekona was currently housed at Valley State Prison. On June 14, 2024, the court allowed Sekona to proceed in forma pauperis, meaning without paying the entire filing fee at the start. The court directed the prison trust-account office to collect an initial $82.95 and then deduct 20 percent of the preceding month’s income credited to the account whenever the balance exceeded $10.

On March 4, 2025, the court granted the defendants’ motion to revoke Sekona’s in forma pauperis status under 28 U.S.C. § 1915(g). Sekona then requested a refund of the balance of the court fee already paid so he could apply that money toward paying the filing fee in full.

Ruling

Judge Haywood S. Gilliam, Jr. denied the refund request as moot. The court explained that the amounts already paid had been credited toward the filing fee, so there was no need to return them. The court clarified that Sekona needed to pay the remaining $187.05 filing fee plus the $52.00 administrative fee, for a total of $239.05, by April 2, 2025, in order to proceed with the action.

The court also ordered the prison trust-account office to cease deducting and forwarding money from Sekona’s account. It stated that once in forma pauperis status is revoked, courts may no longer collect payments from a prisoner who is ineligible for that status under § 1915(g). The court directed the Clerk to send the order to Sekona, the correctional facility’s trust-account office, and the court’s financial office. The order terminated Docket No. 33. The court stated that if the full $239.05 was not received by April 2, 2025, it would dismiss the action without prejudice.