Mickles v. Cardova/Galleria Mall Corp.

Background

Terrell Mickles filed this action against Cardova/Galleria Mall Corp., “Jacob the Jewler,” “Rolex Wallaston,” “De’Ullow of Brazil Diamonds,” and others. The opinion states that Mickles was incarcerated at the Federal Correctional Institution in Terre Haute, Indiana, and was proceeding without a lawyer.

Mickles did not pay the filing fees and did not file a request to proceed in forma pauperis, meaning without paying those fees, or the required prisoner authorization. Because he had not paid, the court treated the filing as a request for that status.

Three-Strikes Rule

The court held that Mickles was barred from filing a new federal civil action without paying the fees while he was incarcerated. The bar was based on the Prison Litigation Reform Act’s “three-strikes” provision, 28 U.S.C. § 1915(g). That provision generally prevents a prisoner from proceeding without paying fees after three earlier federal actions or appeals were dismissed as frivolous, malicious, or for failing to state a claim, unless the prisoner faced imminent danger of serious physical injury.

The court found that Mickles’s complaint did not show that he faced imminent danger. The opinion explains that the danger must exist when the complaint is filed and that a danger that had already ended would not be enough.

Disposition

The court denied Mickles’s in forma pauperis status and dismissed the action without prejudice under the PLRA’s three-strikes rule. The court stated that Mickles could begin a new federal civil action by paying the appropriate fees; that action would then be subject to the required prisoner screening process. The court also certified that any appeal would not be taken in good faith and denied in forma pauperis status for purposes of an appeal.

The dismissal was based on the filing-fee bar and the absence of an imminent-danger showing. The opinion did not decide the substance of Mickles’s allegations against the defendants.