Melville v. Fialo

Background

Keith Melville, who was representing himself, filed this action asking to proceed without paying the filing fee. The court had warned him in a July 11, 2018 order that further duplicative or frivolous litigation could result in an order barring him from filing new actions without paying the filing fee unless he first obtained permission.

On December 23, 2019, the court dismissed this action as frivolous. It also ordered Melville to show cause—meaning to explain—within thirty days why he should not be barred from filing future civil actions without paying the filing fee unless he first obtained permission. Melville did not respond. The opinion also notes that he filed another action on December 26, 2019, which the court dismissed on January 17, 2020, for lack of subject-matter jurisdiction.

Ruling

Judge Colleen McMahon barred Melville from filing future civil actions without paying the filing fee unless he first obtains leave, or permission, from the court under 28 U.S.C. § 1651. Any motion seeking permission must include a copy of the proposed complaint and a copy of this order, and must be filed with the court’s Pro Se Intake Unit. The court stated that it would dismiss any action filed without the required permission motion.

The court directed the Clerk to close the action. It also certified under 28 U.S.C. § 1915(a)(3) that an appeal would not be taken in good faith and denied Melville permission to appeal without paying the filing fee.