JAMES
v.
STATE OF FLORIDA
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The court held that a complaint filed by a pro se prisoner must be dismissed for want of prosecution if the filing fee is not paid and no motion for leave to proceed in forma pauperis is filed.
Plaintiff, a pro se prisoner, filed a complaint for violation of civil rights but neither paid the filing fee nor filed a motion to proceed in forma p…
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THIS CAUSE is before the Court upon a sua sponte review of the record. On November 6, 2023, Plaintiff Denzel Alonzo James filed a Complaint for Violation of Civil Rights Under 28 U.S.C. § 1983, ECF No. .1 As of the date of this Order, Plaintiff has not paid the Court’s filing fee or filed a motion for leave to proceed in forma pauperis.
Plaintiffs who cannot pay the filing fee may file a motion for leave to proceed in forma pauperis so that they may initiate their action without first paying the Court’s filing fee. See 28 U.S.C. § 1915. Under § 1915, a legally sufficient motion for leave to proceed in forma pauperis must be accompanied by “an affidavit that includes a statement of all assets such prisoner possesses . . . [and] a certified copy of the trust fund account statement (or institutional equivalent) for . . . the 6-month period immediately preceding the filing of the complaint . . . .” Id. at (a)(1)-(2).
Pursuant to Rule 41 of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, a district court may dismiss a complaint for failure to prosecute or failure to comply with a court order or the federal rules. Fed.
R. Civ. P. 41(b). Because Plaintiff failed to pay the filing fee or file a motion to proceed in forma pauperis, the Complaint is dismissed for want of prosecution. See Brown v. Blackwater River Corr. Facility, 762 F. App’x 982, 985 (11th Cir. 2019) (“[A] district court may sua sponte dismiss a suit for failure to prosecute or failure to comply with an order.”).
Accordingly, it is ORDERED AND ADJUDGED that the Complaint, ECF No. , is DISMISSED WITHOUT PREJUDICE. The Clerk shall CLOSE this case.
DONE AND ORDERED in Chambers at Miami, Florida, on November 16, 2023.
BETH BLOOM
UNITED STATES DISTRICT JUDGE
Copies to: Denzel Alonzo James, PRO SE 200151508 Metro West Detention Center 13850 NW 41 Street Miami, FL 33178