Barber v. Kitsap County Superior Court

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT WESTERN DISTRICT OF WASHINGTON AT TACOMA DANNY JOE BARBER, III, CASE NO. 3:24-cv-05804-LK Plaintiff, ORDER ADOPTING REPORT AND 12 v. RECOMMENDATION 13 KITSAP COUNTY SUPERIOR COURT et al, Defendants.

This matter comes before the Court on the Report and Recommendation (“R&R”) of United States Magistrate Judge S. Kate Vaughan. Dkt. No. 4. Judge Vaughan recommends that this case be dismissed without prejudice for failure to satisfy the filing fee requirement. Id. at 2.

The Court agrees and adopts the R&R. On September 6, 2024, pro se Plaintiff Danny Joe Barber, III, filed a proposed civil rights complaint under 42 U.S.C. § 1983, which alleged violations of his constitutional rights during his ongoing criminal proceedings in Kitsap County Superior Court. See Dkt. No. 1. However, Mr. Barber has neither paid the requisite filing fee nor submitted an application to proceed with this action in forma pauperis (“IFP”). On September 25, 2024, the Clerk sent Mr. Barber a letter advising him that his submission was deficient because he failed to meet the filing fee requirement and explaining that he would have to either pay the filing fee or submit an IFP application by October 25, 2024; if he failed to do so, he risked dismissal of this action. Dkt. No. 3.

5 To date, Mr. Barber has neither paid the filing fee nor submitted an application to proceed IFP. On January 14, 2025, Judge Vaughan issued an R&R finding that Mr. Barber has had ample time to correct the deficiency, and recommending that the action be dismissed without prejudice for failure to satisfy the filing fee requirement. Dkt. No. 4.

9 The Court generally reviews findings and recommendations “if objection is made, but not otherwise.” United States v. Reyna-Tapia, 328 F.3d 1114, 1121 (9th Cir. 2003) (en banc). Mr. Barber did not file any objections to the R&R. For the reasons stated above, the Court agrees with Judge Vaughan that Mr. Barber’s failure to comply with Local Civil Rule 3 regarding payment of court fees merits dismissal of this action without prejudice.

14 Accordingly, the Court ORDERS the following: 15 (1) The Court ADOPTS the R&R. Dkt. No. 4.

16 (2) This case is DISMISSED without prejudice.

17 (3) The Clerk is directed to send copies of this Order to Mr. Barber at his last known address and to Judge Vaughan.

19 (4) The Clerk is directed to CLOSE this case.

20 Dated this 10th day of February, 2025.

21 A 22 Lauren King United States District Judge