Gholson v. Home Box Office

Background

Lonnie Gholson filed this civil action without a lawyer while incarcerated at Portsmouth City Jail. He submitted the complaint without paying the required fees and without a completed application to proceed without prepaying fees or a prisoner authorization.

Court’s Order

The court explained that a prisoner filing a civil action must either pay $405—the $350 filing fee plus a $55 administrative fee—or submit the required application and authorization. If the court grants the application, the Prison Litigation Reform Act requires the $350 filing fee to be collected in installments from the prisoner’s account. The authorization also directs the institution holding the prisoner to provide certified account statements for the previous six months and deduct the required payments.

The court gave Gholson 30 days from the date of the order to pay the $405 or submit the application and prisoner authorization, labeled with docket number 1:26-CV-5854 (LTS). No summons will issue at this time. The court stated that, if Gholson complies, the case will be processed under the Clerk’s Office procedures; if he does not comply within the allowed time, the action will be dismissed.

Other Rulings and Warnings

The court certified under 28 U.S.C. § 1915(a)(3) that an appeal from this order would not be taken in good faith and denied permission to proceed without prepaying fees for purposes of an appeal. The order also warned that certain dismissals of prisoner actions can count as “strikes” under 28 U.S.C. § 1915(g), which can limit a prisoner’s ability to file later federal civil actions without prepaying fees.

Disposition

The court issued an order directing payment of fees or submission of the required application and prisoner authorization. It did not rule on the merits of Gholson’s claims.