Bonilla v. Villareal

Background

Steven Wayne Bonilla, identified as a state prisoner, filed multiple self-represented civil-rights complaints under 42 U.S.C. § 1983. The complaints named various federal judges, state judges, counties, and federal agencies as defendants. The court said the cases presented very similar claims seeking relief concerning Bonilla’s underlying conviction and the handling of his other self-represented habeas petitions and cases.

The court also noted that Bonilla had a pending federal petition challenging his custody with appointed counsel and was represented by counsel in state-court proceedings concerning the same general subject matter.

Filing-fee determination

The court held that, to the extent Bonilla sought to proceed without paying the filing fee, 28 U.S.C. § 1915(g) disqualified him from doing so unless he was in imminent danger of serious physical injury when he filed. The court found that the allegations did not show such imminent danger. Accordingly, Bonilla could not proceed without paying the filing fee.

Other stated barriers and disposition

The court further stated that, even if an application to proceed without paying the filing fee were granted, the lawsuits would be barred under the rules identified in Heck v. Humphrey, Younger v. Harris, Demos v. U.S. District Court, and Mullis v. U.S. Bankruptcy Court. The opinion did not provide a separate claim-by-claim analysis of those barriers.

The court dismissed the cases with prejudice. It directed the clerk to terminate all pending motions and close the cases, and to return without filing any further documents Bonilla submitted in the closed cases. Judge Phyllis J. Hamilton signed the order.