Fredin v. Clysdale
- Susan Nelson
- 0:18-cv-00510
- U.S. District Court · District of Minnesota
- 4
In Fredin v. Clysdale, Judge Nelson granted appeal fee waiver subject to $59.05 payment and declined a free transcript before appellate need was shown.
Brock Fredin, whose appeal fee must be paid through an immediate $59.05 payment and later deductions from his inmate trust account; the institution’s officials, who must process the required payments.
What happened
In Fredin v. Clysdale, Brock Fredin asked to appeal without paying the full filing fee upfront after becoming a prisoner during the case. The court applied the law requiring prisoners who receive this permission to pay the fee in installments.
The court set Fredin’s initial payment at $59.05, based on his reported average monthly deposits. He must pay the remaining $445.95 through deductions from his inmate account, regardless of the appeal’s outcome. The court also concluded that he was not yet entitled to a free hearing transcript because the appeals court had not said it needed one.
Judge Susan Richard Nelson granted Fredin’s application to proceed without paying the full appeal fee upfront, subject to those payment requirements. The order assessed the $59.05 initial fee immediately and directed the Clerk to notify the officials at the institution where Fredin was confined.
The detailed version
- Fredin v. Clysdale · No. 0:18-cv-00510
- Susan Nelson
- Apr. 3, 2019
Background
Brock Fredin sought permission to proceed without paying the full appellate filing fee in advance after the dismissal of this action. He had become a prisoner while the case was pending. Because he was a prisoner, his appeal application was governed by 28 U.S.C. § 1915(b), part of the Prison Litigation Reform Act.
That statute requires a prisoner who receives permission to proceed without prepaying the fee to pay the full filing fee through an initial partial payment and later installments. The initial payment is 20 percent of the greater of the prisoner’s average monthly deposits or average monthly account balance during the six months before filing.
Court’s analysis
Fredin’s account information showed average monthly deposits of $295.25. His average monthly balance had “never exceeded $300.00.” The court assumed that the average deposits exceeded the average balance and calculated 20 percent of $295.25 as $59.05.
The court explained that the $59.05 initial payment was due immediately. If Fredin continued with the appeal, the remaining $445.95 of the $505.00 appellate filing fee would be collected through later deductions from his inmate trust account under § 1915(b)(2). The court stated that Fredin would have to pay the filing fee regardless of the appeal’s outcome.
Fredin also requested a hearing transcript at no cost. The court explained that a transcript may be provided at government expense when the reviewing court requires it. Because the appellate court had not indicated that it needed a transcript, the court concluded that Fredin was not yet entitled to one.
Order and disposition
Judge Susan Richard Nelson ordered that Fredin’s initial partial appellate filing fee was $59.05 and was due immediately. She ordered that the unpaid balance of $445.95 be paid as required by § 1915(b)(2), and directed the Clerk of Court to notify the authorities at the institution where Fredin was confined. Subject to those requirements, the court GRANTED Fredin’s application to proceed without prepaying the full appellate filing fee. The order did not provide the requested transcript at that time.
Read the full 4-page opinion on CourtListener, the free public archive maintained by the Free Law Project.