Reported / Citable
Background
Reginald Turner, an inmate at the Dallas County Jail, filed a pro se complaint against Super One Grocery arising from an alleged slip and fall at a Longview, Texas, store on April 6, 2023. He asserted premises-liability and negligence claims and sought $800,000 for injuries and medical expenses.
Turner did not pay the filing fee, so the court treated him as seeking leave to proceed in forma pauperis. The magistrate judge reviewed Turner’s extensive litigation history, which included multiple federal actions dismissed as frivolous or for failure to state a claim.
The Court’s Holding
The magistrate judge recommended dismissing the action under the Prison Litigation Reform Act’s three-strikes provision, 28 U.S.C. § 1915(g). Turner had accumulated at least three qualifying dismissals and therefore could not proceed in forma pauperis unless his complaint alleged that he faced imminent danger of serious physical injury when he filed it.
The complaint’s allegations concerning a slip and fall approximately one year earlier did not establish imminent danger at the time of filing. The recommended dismissal was with prejudice to refiling the same claims in forma pauperis, but without prejudice to refiling the lawsuit with full payment of the $405 filing and administrative fees. The document was a report and recommendation, not a final judgment, and the parties had 14 days to file specific objections.
Key Takeaways
- A prisoner with three qualifying dismissals generally cannot bring another federal civil action in forma pauperis.
- The statutory exception requires allegations of imminent danger of serious physical injury at the time the complaint is filed.
- The recommended dismissal would not prevent Turner from pursuing the same claims if he paid the full filing and administrative fees.
Why It Matters
The recommendation illustrates that the PLRA’s three-strikes rule restricts a prisoner’s ability to proceed without prepaying fees even when the new lawsuit asserts an ordinary state-law claim, such as negligence or premises liability. Unless the imminent-danger exception applies, a qualifying litigant must pay the required fees to proceed.