Perkins v. Daniels

Background

Victor B. Perkins sought permission to appeal without paying the full appellate filing fee in advance. He also filed a motion titled “Motion for a Procedural Default Due to the Failure and/or Neglect to Respond to Civil Action Litigation Pursuant to Rule(s) 12, 54(c) and 55(b)(2) of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure.” The court referred to that filing as the “post-judgment motion.”

The court noted that it had previously adopted a magistrate judge’s report and recommendation and dismissed the case with prejudice. Judgment was entered on November 22, 2022.

Appeal-related filing-fee request

The court explained that a prisoner allowed to proceed without prepaying fees is still required to pay the filing fee, generally through installments. The court stated that Perkins might qualify for this status on appeal, but it could not calculate his initial partial appellate filing fee because he had not submitted a certified trust-account statement covering the six months before December 2, 2022, the date he filed his notice of appeal and application.

The court ordered Perkins to file the certified statement within 21 days of the order. It also directed the clerk to send him the form for requesting permission to appeal without prepaying fees, including the certification to be completed by an authorized prison official. The court did not grant or deny the appeal-related fee request in this order.

Post-judgment motion and disposition

The court reviewed Perkins’s post-judgment motion under Federal Rules of Civil Procedure 59(e) and 60. It found that the motion did not show a basis for relief from the judgment or any other basis for relief. The court therefore DENIED the post-judgment motion.

Judge Katherine M. Menendez’s order also required Perkins to provide the certified trust-account statement and directed the clerk to provide the appeal form. The order’s text says in one place that the statement should be filed within 30 days, but the formal order requires filing within 21 days.