Bartylla v. Centurion Medical Services et al

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
DISTRICT OF MINNESOTA
NICHOLAS EDWIN BARTYLLA,
Plaintiff,
v.
MN-D.O.C. COMMISSIONER OF COR-
RECTIONS PAUL SCHNELL; CENTU-
RION MEDICAL SERVICES AND AF-
FILIATES; STEPHAN CRAANE, MD.;
BRENT 	PLACKNER, 	P.A.; 	CAROL,
JOAN WOLFF; LT. KANTOLA; and LT.
OYE,
Defendants.
Case No. 25-CV-4495 (PAM/JFD)
ORDER
Plaintiff Nicholas Edwin Bartylla, a prisoner, has applied for in forma pauperis
(“IFP”) status. See Appl. to Proceed in Dist. Ct. Without Prepaying Fees or Costs (Dkt. No.
2 (“IFP Application”)). Because Mr. Bartylla is a prisoner, see 28 U.S.C. § 1915(h), the
IFP Application falls under 28 U.S.C. § 1915(b), which mandates an initial partial filing
fee for prisoners seeking IFP status in civil actions. See, e.g., Ashley v. Dilworth, 147 F.3d
715, 716 (8th Cir. 1998). This fee is 20 percent of the greater of (1) the average monthly
deposits to the plaintiff’s facility trust account in the 6 months immediately before the
complaint’s filing, or (2) the average balance in the plaintiff’s account during the same
period. See 28 U.S.C. § 1915(b)(1).
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Materials accompanying the IFP Application indicate that Mr. Bartylla must submit
an initial partial filing fee of $16.86.1 This action will not proceed until Mr. Bartylla pays
this partial filing fee. If he fails to pay within 21 days of this Order’s date, the Court will
consider the action abandoned and will recommend this action’s dismissal without preju-
dice for lack of prosecution. See Fed. R. Civ. P. 41(b).
Finally, the Court offers Mr. Bartylla the following warnings:
• 	If Mr. Bartylla proceeds with this action by paying the $16.86 initial
partial filing fee, he will have to pay the remaining $333.14 of the
action’s $350.00 statutory filing fee in installments. Officials at
Mr. Bartylla’s confinement facility will be informed of this require-
ment and authorized to withdraw funds from his facility trust account
to remit to the Court, as per § 1915(b), regardless of the action’s out-
come.
• 	Upon payment of the initial partial filing fee, the Court will review
Mr. Bartylla’s Complaint for Violation of Civil Rights Under 42
U.S.C. § 1983 (Dkt. No. 1 (“Complaint”)) to determine if he has
pleaded a viable claim for relief within the Court’s jurisdiction. If the
Court finds that the Complaint is frivolous or malicious, or that it fails
to state a claim for which this Court can grant relief, Mr. Bartylla will
incur a “strike” under 28 U.S.C. § 1915(g). Accumulating three or
more “strikes” will significantly restrict Mr. Bartylla’s ability to pro-
ceed IFP in federal court.
1 A Certificate of Authorized Prison Official states that the amount of Mr. Bartylla’s aver-
age monthly deposits during the preceding six-month period was $84.33. See IFP Appl. 6.
A copy of Mr. Bartylla’s trust-account statement submitted as an attachment to his com-
plaint (see Dkt. No. 1-1) indicates that his average balance during most of the same period
was $37.72. Because the deposits amount exceeds the balance amount, Mr. Bartylla’s ini-
tial partial filing fee in this case, under the formula prescribed by 28 U.S.C. § 1915(b)(1),
is 20 percent of the average deposits amount, or $16.86.
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ORDER
Based on the foregoing, and on all of the files, records, and proceedings herein, IT
IS HEREBY ORDERED THAT:
1. 	Plaintiff Nicholas Edwin Bartylla must pay an initial partial filing fee
of at least $16.86 within 21 days of this Order’s date.
2. 	Should Mr. Bartylla fail to pay the initial partial filing fee, the Court
will recommend dismissing this action without prejudice for failure to
prosecute.
Date: December 4, 2025 	s/ John F. Docherty
JOHN F. DOCHERTY
United States Magistrate Judge
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