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HAMMLER v. JONES (2021)

United States Court of Appeals, Ninth Circuit.2021-03-19No. No. 19-56263

Summary

Holding. The court affirmed the district court's dismissal of Hammler's civil rights action because he failed to comply with filing requirements by neither paying the filing fee nor applying for in forma pauperis status within the prescribed deadline.

Allen Hammler, a California state prisoner, appealed the dismissal of his federal civil rights lawsuit challenging various constitutional violations. The district court dismissed his case because he neither paid the required filing fee nor submitted an application to proceed in forma pauperis (at no cost due to indigency) by the court's deadline. The appellate court reviewed whether the dismissal constituted an abuse of discretion and found no error in the district court's action, as prisoners filing civil cases must comply with specific procedural requirements under federal law, including either paying the fee or timely requesting indigent status and submitting financial documentation.

Summary generated by law.co from the public-domain opinion. The opinion text itself is public domain.

Key issues

  • Compliance with filing fee and in forma pauperis application requirements for prisoner civil litigation
  • Statutory obligations under the Prison Litigation Reform Act
  • Standards for abuse of discretion in dismissal decisions
  • Denial of motion for reconsideration based on failure to establish grounds for relief

Procedural posture

A state prisoner appealed pro se from a district court order dismissing his 42 U.S.C. § 1983 constitutional civil rights action for failure to pay the filing fee or timely apply for in forma pauperis status.

Authorities cited

No cited authorities resolved to law.co cases yet.

Opinion

MEMORANDUM **

California state prisoner Allen Hammler appeals pro se from the district courts order dismissing his 42 U.S.C. § 1983 action alleging various constitutional violations for failure to pay the filing fee or apply for in forma pauperis status. We have jurisdiction under 28 U.S.C. § 1291. We review for an abuse of discretion. James v. Madison Street Jail, 122 F.3d 27, 27 n.1 (9th Cir. 1997). We affirm.

The district court did not abuse its discretion by dismissing Hammlers action because Hammler failed to file an application to proceed in forma pauperis or pay the filing fee by the deadline set by the district court. See 28 U.S.C. § 1915(a)-(b); Taylor v. Delatoore, 281 F.3d 844, 847 (9th Cir. 2002) (explaining that, under the Prison Litigation Reform Act (“PLRA”), all prisoners who file IFP civil actions must pay the filing fee as laid out in 28 U.S.C. § 1915(b)); Page v. Torrey, 201 F.3d 1136, 1139 (9th Cir. 2000) (the PLRA “imposes specific filing requirements on prisoners seeking to file civil actions in forma pauperis” and that these include a submission of “a certified copy of their prisoner trust account statement for the previous six months․”).

The district court did not abuse its discretion in denying Hammlers motion for reconsideration because Hammler failed to establish any basis for relief. See Sch. Dist. No. 1J Multnomah Cty., Or. v. ACandS, Inc., 5 F.3d 1255, 1262-63 (9th Cir. 1993) (setting forth standard of review and grounds for reconsideration under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 59(e)).

We do not consider arguments or allegations raised for the first time on appeal. See Padgett v. Wright, 587 F.3d 983, 985 n.2 (9th Cir. 2009).

AFFIRMED.