Davis v. Schnell

Background

Terrell Davis filed an application to proceed without paying the filing fee in advance. Because Davis is a prisoner, the Prison Litigation Reform Act requires him to pay the full statutory filing fee through an initial partial payment and later deductions from his prison account.

Davis’s account statement showed average monthly deposits of $248.98 and an average monthly balance of $57.38 during the six months before he filed the complaint. Under 28 U.S.C. § 1915(b), the initial partial filing fee is 20% of the greater amount. The court therefore calculated the initial payment as $49.80.

Ruling

The court ordered Davis to pay an initial partial filing fee of at least $49.80 within 21 days of the order. The action would not go forward until that payment was made. If Davis paid it, prison officials would be required to deduct money from his account and send it to the court until the remaining balance of the $350 statutory filing fee was paid, regardless of the outcome of the case.

The court did not dismiss the action in this order. Instead, it ordered that, if Davis failed to pay the initial partial filing fee, dismissal without prejudice would be recommended for failure to prosecute. Judge Becky R. Thorson also warned that the state officials were sued in their official capacities and were immune from monetary-damages claims, and suggested that Davis consider filing an amended complaint if he intended to pursue such damages.

Effect

The order addressed only Davis’s request to proceed without paying the filing fee in advance. It required an initial payment and set out the consequences of nonpayment; it did not decide the underlying claims against Paul Schnell or William Bolin.