Rodriguez v. D.O.C

Background

Rico Rodriguez, who was incarcerated and proceeded without a lawyer, filed this action on December 10, 2021. The opinion says he asserted several separate claims, but it does not describe those claims in detail. He also applied to proceed without paying the filing fee upfront.

Because Rodriguez was incarcerated, the magistrate judge screened the complaint under 28 U.S.C. § 1915A. That screening statute allows a court to dismiss a prisoner’s complaint if it is frivolous, malicious, or fails to state a claim for which relief may be granted. The magistrate judge concluded that Rodriguez’s complaint failed to state such a claim and recommended dismissing it without prejudice. The magistrate judge also recommended denying Rodriguez’s application to proceed without prepaying fees as moot.

Objection

Rodriguez objected to the recommendation. He believed the case had been dismissed because he had not paid the filing fee. The court explained that the recommended dismissal was based on the failure of his pleaded legal claims to establish entitlement to relief, not on an unpaid filing fee.

Rodriguez also expressed concern about dismissal without prejudice and requested that any future proceedings not be assigned to the same magistrate judge. The court explained that dismissal without prejudice permits a party to file another lawsuit, and that a litigant does not have the right to select which judge hears the case. Rodriguez did not specifically challenge the magistrate judge’s factual findings or legal conclusions.

Ruling

After independently reviewing the record, Judge Susan Richard Nelson overruled Rodriguez’s objection and adopted the Report and Recommendation in its entirety. The court ordered that Rodriguez’s complaint be dismissed without prejudice. It denied as moot his application to proceed in district court without prepaying fees or costs.

The court also ordered Rodriguez to pay the unpaid balance of the statutory filing fee, identified as $317.67, through the payment process required by 28 U.S.C. § 1915(b)(2). The Clerk was directed to notify the authorities at the institution where Rodriguez was confined about that requirement and to provide Rodriguez copies of specified filings. The amended order added a direction for the Clerk to enter judgment.