Sanders
Sanders v. Yarborough
Opinion
Opinion
Flier, J.
This is an action brought by a prisoner incarcerated in a California state prison, appellant Phillip C, Sanders. The trial court struck the complaint and dismissed the action because Sanders failed to pay the full amount of the filing fees required by law. We reverse with directions.
FACTUAL BACKGROUND AND STATUTORY FRAMEWORK
Sanders’s action was filed on June 5, 2003. The action named three employees of the California Department of Corrections as defendants (hereafter respondents) and alleged that Sanders’s civil rights were violated on May 3, 2003, when he was subjected to a race-based lockdown at the California State Prison in Los Angeles county.
Contemporaneously with the filing of the complaint, Sanders applied for and was granted a waiver of waiver of fees and costs under rule 985 of the California Rules of Court. While the record does not contain Sanders’s application, the record contains a printed form that states: “IT IS ORDERED that the application is granted in whole, [f] ... No payments. Payment of all the fees and costs listed in California Rules of Court, rule 985(i), is waived.” The order is dated June 5, 2003, and is signed by a commissioner.