Opinion
CIVIL ACTION NO. 5:20-CV-00187-RWS
03-30-2021
ERIC FLORES, Plaintiff, v. UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE, ET AL., Defendants.
ORDER
Plaintiff Eric Flores, an inmate proceeding pro se, filed the above-styled and numbered civil action complaining of alleged violations of his constitutional rights. The case was referred to the United States Magistrate Judge in accordance with 28 U.S.C. § 636.
Plaintiff alleges that unnamed persons stole his identity in order to take out student loans, asserting that after he applied for loans and Pell grants, these persons conspired to have him falsely convicted of a crime in order to prevent him from going to college and enabling them to impersonate him so they could enroll in college under his name. The Magistrate Judge properly determined that these allegations are factually frivolous and fail to state a claim upon which relief may be granted. Docket No. 7.
The Magistrate Judge further noted that this filing is one of a lengthy series of frivolous filings from the Plaintiff Eric Flores. Docket No. 7 at 2. He has accumulated three strikes within the meaning of 28 U.S.C. § 1915(g) and therefore cannot proceed in forma pauperis absent a showing of imminent danger of serious physical injury. Id. In addition, Plaintiff has been sanctioned a total of $300.00 by the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals in two separate cases and barred from further filing absent leave of court until he pays the sanctions in full. Id.
Plaintiff has not satisfied these sanctions and has ignored multiple warnings. He filed a total of eight lawsuits between September of 2020 and March of 2021, each raising similarly frivolous and nonsensical allegations. The Magistrate Judge therefore recommended that no further lawsuits be accepted from the Plaintiff Eric Flores unless such lawsuit is filed by a licensed attorney enrolled to practice in the Eastern District of Texas and the full filing fee is paid at the outset of the case. Id. at 3.
Plaintiff did not file objections to the Magistrate Judge's Report and is therefore barred from appealing the factual findings and legal conclusions of the Magistrate Judge which are accepted and adopted by the district court except upon grounds of plain error. Duarte v. City of Lewisville, 858 F.3d 348, 352 (5th Cir. 2017).
The Court has reviewed the pleadings in this cause and the Report of the Magistrate Judge. Upon such review, the Court has determined the Report of the Magistrate Judge is correct. See United States v. Wilson, 864 F.2d 1219, 1221 (5th Cir.), cert. denied, 492 U.S. 918, 109 S.Ct. 3243 (1989) (where no objections to a Magistrate Judge's Report are filed, the standard of review is "clearly erroneous, abuse of discretion and contrary to law."). Accordingly, it is
ORDERED that the Plaintiff's objections are overruled and the Report of the Magistrate Judge (Docket No. 7) is ADOPTED as the opinion of the District Court. It is further
ORDERED that the above-styled civil action is DISMISSED WITH PREJUDICE as frivolous and for failure to state a claim upon which relief may be granted. It is further
ORDERED that the Court shall accept no further lawsuits from the Plaintiff Eric Flores, TDCJ-CID No. 02051801, unless such lawsuit is filed by a licensed attorney enrolled to practice in the Eastern District of Texas and upon payment of the full filing fee at the initiation of the case. Any new lawsuit received from the Plaintiff which does not meet both of these conditions shall be returned by the Clerk of Court or discarded, at the sole discretion of the Clerk. It is further
ORDERED that a copy of this Order shall be sent to the Administrator of the Sanctions List for the Eastern District of Texas.
So ORDERED and SIGNED this 30th day of March, 2021.
/s/_________
ROBERT W. SCHROEDER III
UNITED STATES DISTRICT JUDGE