Opinion

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT FOR THE

NORTHERN DISTRICT OF FLORIDA

PENSACOLA DIVISION

DOUGLAS MARSHALL JACKSON,

FDOC #823916,

Plaintiff,

vs. Case No.: 3:25cv2180/LAC/ZCB

FLORIDA DEPARTMENT OF

CORRECTIONS,

Defendant.

/

REPORT AND RECOMMENDATION

Plaintiff is an inmate of the Florida Department of Corrections

(FDOC). He filed a pro se civil rights complaint titled, “Emergency

Imminent Danger!!!” on October 13, 2025. (Doc. 1).

The Court reviewed Plaintiff’s litigation history and determined he

is a three-striker. This means he was required to pay the filing fee upon

initiating this suit, or he must demonstrate that he is “under imminent

danger of serious physical injury.” 28 U.S.C. § 1915(g). Because Plaintiff

is a three-striker, did not pay the filing fee, and does not qualify under

the imminent danger exception, this case should be dismissed.

I. Discussion

Under the three strikes provision, a prisoner cannot proceed in

forma pauperis (IFP) in a civil action if he has “on 3 or more prior

occasions, while incarcerated . . . , brought an action or appeal in a court

of the United States that was dismissed on the grounds that it is

frivolous, malicious, or fails to state a claim.” 28 U.S.C. § 1915(g). The

statute provides a narrow exception for instances where the prisoner is

“under imminent danger of serious physical injury.” Id.; see also Daker

v. Bryson, 784 F. App’x 690, 692 (11th Cir. 2019) (explaining that the

“sole exception to the three strikes bar is where the prisoner is under

imminent danger of serious physical injury”).

A prisoner who is ineligible to proceed IFP must pay the full filing

fee when the lawsuit is filed. Dupree v. Palmer, 284 F.3d 1234, 1236 (11th

Cir. 2002). The Eleventh Circuit has explained that when the district

court determines that the prisoner is ineligible to proceed IFP pursuant

to § 1915(g), the proper procedure is for the district court to dismiss the

complaint without prejudice. Id. According to Dupree, a prisoner cannot

avoid dismissal by simply paying the filing fee at a later time because the

filing fee is due at the time the prisoner initiated the suit. Id.; see also

Vanderberg v. Donaldson, 259 F.3d 1321, 1324 (11th Cir. 2001) (stating

that after three meritless suits, a prisoner must pay the full filing fee at

the time he initiates suit).

The Court has reviewed Plaintiff’s litigation history as disclosed on

the federal courts’ Public Access To Court Electronic Records (PACER)

database.1 That review has revealed that Plaintiff (while a prisoner)

previously filed at least three actions or appeals in federal courts that

were dismissed as frivolous, malicious, or for failure to state a claim.

More specifically:

• Jackson v. Inch, 3:21cv132-MCR-HTC (N.D. Fla. Mar. 29,

2021) (dismissing Plaintiff’s complaint as frivolous, malicious,

and for failing to state a claim);

• Jackson v. Fla. Dep’t of Corr., et al., 3:20cv5882-LC-HTC (N.D.

Fla. Dec. 29, 2020) (dismissing Plaintiff’s complaint as

frivolous, malicious, and for failing to state a claim); and

1 Federal Rule of Evidence 201 permits a court to “judicially notice a fact

that is not subject to reasonable dispute because it . . . can be accurately

and readily determined from sources whose accuracy cannot reasonably

be questioned.” Fed. R. Evid. 201(b)(2).

• Jackson v. Bush, et al., 3:06cv133-MCR-EMT (N.D. Fla. Aug.

9, 2006) (dismissing Plaintiff’s complaint for failure to state a

claim under 28 § 1915(b)(ii)2).3

Because Plaintiff had at least three strikes when he commenced

this case, he cannot proceed IFP and should have paid the filing fee at

the time of filing. He failed to do so.

The only remaining question is whether Plaintiff’s factual

allegations support a finding that he is “under imminent danger of

serious physical injury” as required for the exception in § 1915(g) to

apply. The answer to that question is no. Here are the reasons why.

The § 1915(g) exception requires the complaint, as a whole, to allege

imminent danger of serious physical injury. Brown v. Johnson, 387 F.3d

1344, 1350 (11th Cir. 2004). The exception requires a showing of

“specific, credible allegations of imminent-danger of serious physical

harm.” Chestnut v. Leavins, No. 3:21cv827, 2021 WL 3134392, at *6

(N.D. Fla. July 2, 2021) (cleaned up), adopted by 2021 WL 3132724 (N.D.

2 A dismissal for failure to exhaust administrative remedies counts as a

strike where the failure to exhaust appears on the face of the complaint.

Wells v. Brown, 58 F.4th 1347, 1356-57 (11th Cir. 2023).

3 Plaintiff identified himself with FDOC inmate #823916 in his pleadings

in all of these cases.

Fla. Jully 24, 2021). A complaint must include “specific fact allegations

of ongoing serious physical injury, or of a pattern of misconduct

evidencing the likelihood of imminent serious physical injury.” See

Sutton v. Dist. Atty’s Office, 334 F. App’x 278, 279 (11th Cir. 2009).

Additionally, the plaintiff must be in such imminent danger of

serious physical injury at the time he files the lawsuit—not at the time

of the alleged incident that gave rise to the complaint. See Medberry v.

Butler, 185 F.3d 1189, 1193 (11th Cir. 1999) (holding that because the

threat of imminent danger to the inmate “ceased prior to the filing of his

[c]omplaint,” he did not qualify for the 1915(g) imminent danger

exception); see also Abdul-Akbar v. McKelvie, 239 F.3d 307, 315 (3d Cir.

2001) (“By using the term ‘imminent,’ Congress indicated that it wanted

to include a safety valve for the ‘three strikes’ rule to prevent impending

harms, not those harms that had already occurred.”).

Here, Plaintiff’s allegations do not indicate he was in imminent

danger of serious physical injury when he filed this lawsuit in October

2025. His allegation of being attacked by other inmates at Hardee C.I.

in August 2025 does not show imminent danger because Plaintiff was

transferred from that institution in September 2025 and remains housed

at his new institution. Plaintiff’s remaining allegations concern

confiscation of his personal property and lack of access to certain law

library services at his current institution. But he does not allege any of

those conditions pose a threat to his physical safety, nor do those

conditions suggest a threat of impending physical harm. For these

reasons, Plaintiff does not qualify for the imminent danger exception to

the three-strikes bar.

II. Conclusion

Plaintiff is a three-striker. He did not pay the filing fee when he

filed his complaint. And he has not satisfied the “imminent danger”

exception under § 1915(g). For these reasons, dismissal of the complaint

without prejudice is appropriate.

Accordingly, it is respectfully RECOMMENDED that:

1. This action be DISMISSED without prejudice, under 28

U.S.C. § 1915(g), based on Plaintiff’s failure to pay the filing fee.

2. The Clerk of Court be directed to enter judgment accordingly

and close this case.

At Pensacola, Florida this 10th day of November 2025.

/s/ Zachary C. Bolitho

Zachary C. Bolitho

United States Magistrate Judge

Notice to the Parties

Objections to these proposed findings and recommendations must be

filed within fourteen days of the date of the Report and Recommendation.

Any different deadline that may appear on the electronic docket is for the

Court’s internal use only and does not control. An objecting party must

serve a copy of the objections on all other parties. A party who fails to

object to the magistrate judge’s findings or recommendations contained

in a report and recommendation waives the right to challenge on appeal

the district court’s order based on unobjected-to factual and legal

conclusions. See 11th Cir. Rule 3-1; 28 U.S.C. § 636.