Skylar Smith v. Terri Vandergriff

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT EASTERN DISTRICT OF MISSOURI EASTERN DIVISION SKYLAR SMITH, ) ) Plaintiff, ) ) vs. ) Case No. 4:26-cv-0287-MTS ) TERRI VANDERGRIFF, ) ) Defendant. ) MEMORANDUM AND ORDER This matter is before the Court on review of Plaintiff Skylar Smith’s Application to Proceed in District Court without Prepaying Fees or Costs, Doc. [2], and his certified inmate account statement, Doc. [5]. See 28 U.S.C. § 1915(a)(1)–(2). Though Plaintiff made the declarations in his application under penalty of perjury, a review of his Application and account statement shows that he plainly lied to the Court.

Plaintiff signed his Application on February 19, 2026. Doc. [2]. In it, he declared that he earned ten dollars per month in wages and that he received a $40.00 “monthly gift” from his family. Id. That much appears to be true. But he also declared that he had not received any other income from any other sources during the past twelve months. Id. His certified inmate account statement, though, shows that on February 11, 2026, he had a $490.00 deposit to his inmate account. Doc. [5] at 3. He certainly was aware of this large deposit because he made a canteen purchase days later, on February 17, 2026, for $501.06. Yet, just two days after making this substantial purchase and eight days after receiving the deposit, when he completed his Application, he completely omitted this information.

Because Plaintiff provided false information to the Court and clearly had the ability to prepay the entire filing fee, the Court will deny his Application. See Waters v. Clayton, 2:25-cv-0095-MTS, 2026 WL 288994, at *1 (E.D. Mo. Feb. 4, 2026); Griffin v. Centurion, LLC, 2:25-cv-0062-MTS, 2026 WL 696535, at *2 (E.D. Mo. Mar. 12, 2026).

Plaintiff must prepay the filing fee in full within forty-five days.”

Accordingly, IT IS HEREBY ORDERED that Plaintiff Skylar Smith’s Application to Proceed in District Court without Prepaying Fees or Costs, Doc. [2], is DENIED. No later than Friday, May 15, 2026, Plaintiff must prepay the entire $405 filing fee in this matter. If he does not do so, the Court will dismiss this action without further notice.

Dated this 31st day of March 2026. |) Al Pe UNITED STATES DISTRICT JUDGE * The Court will extend the deadline to pay the filing fee upon a showing by Plaintiff of good cause. See Fed. R. Civ. P. 6(b)(1)(A). _2-