PAREDES V, DEAN
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Pro se plaintiff Karina Paredes filed a complaint in federal court without paying the required filing fee or submitting a motion to proceed in forma pauperis. The court dismissed the complaint without prejudice for failure to comply with fee payment requirements, allowing plaintiff to refile with proper payment or a completed application for in forma pauperis status.
The court dismissed plaintiff's complaint without prejudice for failure to pay the filing fee or move to proceed in forma pauperis. The court noted that while prisoners may file complaints without immediate fee payment, non-prisoner litigants must either pay the fee upfront or submit a signed long-form application to proceed without prepayment.
[1] A pro se litigant who is not in custody must pay the filing fee or move to proceed in forma pauperis to commence a civil action.
[2] A complaint filed without payment of the filing fee or a motion to proceed in forma pauperis may be dismissed without prejudice.
Previewing 2 of 4 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 district court's authority to require fee payment under 28 U.S.C. § 1914(c)
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Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligencePlaintiff Karina Paredes, who is not in custody, filed a civil complaint pro se. The complaint was not accompanied by payment of the filing fee, nor d…
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Before the Court is pro se Plaintiff Karina Paredes 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). This action is therefore DISMISSED 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, Plaintiffs Complaint (Doc. 1) is DISMISSED without prejudice. The Clerk of Court is DIRECTED to enter judgment dismissing the case without prejudice, deny any pending motions as moot, terminate any deadlines, and close the case.
ORDERED in Fort Myers, Florida, on June 11, 2025.