Belmadani v. Salazar

Background

Azzedine Belmadani brought this action without a lawyer and asked to proceed without prepaying court fees through an application for fee-waiver status. The application stated that he was unemployed and that he or someone living in his residence had received more than $200 in public benefits during the prior 12 months. But the application did not identify the type of benefits, the recipient, or the monthly amount. It also did not answer questions about his bank accounts, property and other assets, monthly expenses, people he financially supports, or other financial obligations.

Court’s reasoning

The court concluded that it lacked enough information to decide whether Belmadani qualified to proceed without prepaying fees. The court explained that commencing a civil action required either payment of $402—$350 as the filing fee and $52 as the administrative fee—or submission of a completed application under the federal fee-waiver statute.

Order

The court ordered Belmadani, within 30 days of April 23, 2021, to either pay the $402 or complete, sign, and submit an amended fee-waiver application that clearly answered every financial question. If the court determined that he had enough money to pay the fees, it could require payment. The court directed the Clerk of Court to mail him the order and record service on the docket. It stated that the action would proceed through the Clerk’s Office if Belmadani complied, but that the action would be dismissed if he did not comply within the allowed time.

Judge Laura Taylor Swain also certified under 28 U.S.C. § 1915(a)(3) that an appeal from the order would not be taken in good faith and denied fee-waiver status for any appeal.