LIBONATI
v.
HEMMINGS
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Pro se plaintiff Libonati filed a civil complaint without paying the required filing fee or submitting an in forma pauperis application. After being directed to do so within 14 days and failing to comply, the district court dismissed the complaint without prejudice for failure to meet jurisdictional filing requirements.
The complaint is dismissed without prejudice because the non-prisoner pro se plaintiff failed to comply with the requirement to either pay the filing fee or file an in forma pauperis application within the time directed by the Court.
[1] A federal court may dismiss an action without prejudice for failure to pay the filing fee or move to proceed in forma pauperis.
[2] A litigant who is not in custody must pay the filing fee or submit an affidavit to proceed in forma pauperis to commence a civil action.
Previewing 2 of 3 headnotes on this case. FLexlaw’s editorially structured points of law — every proposition, pinpointed — are reserved for members.
Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligence“Each district court by rule or standing order may require advance payment of fees.”
Establishes the authority of district courts to require advance payment of filing fees under 28 U.S.C. § 1914(c)
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Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligencePlaintiff Adam Julius Libonati, who is not in custody, filed a pro se complaint in the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Florida. He did …
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Before the Court is pro se Plaintiff Adam Julius Libonati's Complaint. (Doc. 1). Plaintiff (who is not in custody) has yet to pay the filing fee or move to proceed without prepayment of costs. See 28 U.S.C. § 1915 (allowing a litigant to commence a civil action without prepayment of the filing fee if the litigant submits an affidavit showing they are unable to pay). On August 7, 2025, Plaintiff was directed to either pay the filing fee or fill out an in forma pauperis application by August 21, 2025. (Doc. 3). Plaintiff did not respond.
The Court thus dismisses this action without prejudice. See 28 U.S.C. § 1914(c) ("Each district court by rule or standing order may require advance payment of fees."); Local Rule 1.05(c) (“The clerk must accept an initial paper from a person in custody even if no filing fee or motion for leave to proceed in forma pauperis accompanies the paper." (emphasis added)); Myers v. City of Naples,
Fla., No. 23-13073, 2024 WL 4691100, at *2 (11th Cir. Nov. 6, 2024) (affirming the dismissal of an unrepresented, non-prisoner litigant's complaint for failure to contemporaneously pay the filing fee or move in forma pauperis). If Plaintiff wants to proceed with his claims, he may file another complaint under a separate case number that is accompanied by the required filing fee or a signed long-form application to proceed without prepaying fees or costs (available at www.uscourts.gov/sites/default/files/ao239_1.pdf).
Accordingly, it is now
ORDERED:
1. The Complaint (Doc. 1) is DISMISSED without prejudice. 2. The Clerk is DIRECTED to deny any pending motions as moot, terminate any deadlines, and close the case.
DONE and ORDERED in Fort Myers, Florida on August 25, 2025.
Sheri Polster Rappell SHERI POLSTER CHAPPELL UNITED STATES DISTRICT JUDGE
Copies: All Parties of Record