Reported / Citable
Background
Texas prisoner Issac Perez, proceeding without counsel, filed a lawsuit under 42 U.S.C. § 1983 without paying the filing fee. The district court referred the case to a magistrate judge under 28 U.S.C. § 636(b).
On July 17, 2026, the magistrate judge recommended denying Perez leave to proceed in forma pauperis and dismissing the case without prejudice because he had not complied with court orders requiring him to satisfy the filing-fee requirement. A copy of the report was mailed to Perez, and he filed no objections.
The Court’s Holding
Because no objections were filed, the district court reviewed the magistrate judge’s report and recommendation for clear error. The court found none and accepted the magistrate judge’s findings and recommendation.
The court denied Perez’s unsupported applications to proceed in forma pauperis and dismissed the action without prejudice. It based the dismissal on Perez’s failure to take the steps necessary to prosecute the case by satisfying the filing-fee requirement.
Key Takeaways
- A prisoner who files a federal civil-rights action without paying the filing fee must adequately support a request to proceed in forma pauperis and comply with filing-fee orders.
- When no party objects to a magistrate judge’s report and recommendation, the district court reviews it for clear error.
- The court dismissed Perez’s case without prejudice after denying his unsupported pauper applications.
Why It Matters
The order illustrates that failure to comply with filing-fee requirements can prevent a federal prisoner’s civil-rights claims from proceeding, regardless of their underlying merits. It also shows the limited clear-error review applied when no objections are filed to a magistrate judge’s recommendation.