Background
Giancarlo Mondragon, a California state prisoner, appealed from a district court order dismissing his civil rights action. The district court dismissed the case because Mondragon failed to pay the filing fee or apply for in forma pauperis status by the deadline set by the court.
The court’s reasoning
The court reviewed the district court’s decision for an abuse of discretion. It held that the district court did not abuse its discretion in dismissing the action. Under the Prison Litigation Reform Act, all prisoners who file in forma pauperis civil actions must pay the full amount of the filing fee according to the schedule set forth in the relevant statute.
What it means going forward
The ruling reinforces that prisoners must strictly comply with filing fee requirements or in forma pauperis application deadlines to maintain civil rights actions in federal court.
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