Opinion
No. 08-7122.
Submitted: April 8, 2009.
Decided: May 4, 2009.
Appeal from the United States District Court for the Middle District of North Carolina, at Durham. James A. Beaty, Jr., Chief District Judge. (1:07-cv-00712-JAB-WWD).
Ya Jelani Simba, Appellant Pro Se. James Philip Allen, Assistant Attorney General, Raleigh, North Carolina, for Appellees.
Before NIEMEYER and KING, Circuit Judges, and HAMILTON, Senior Circuit Judge.
Affirmed in part; vacated in part by unpublished PER CURIAM opinion.
Unpublished opinions are not binding precedent in this circuit.
Ya Jelani Simba appeals the district court's order adopting the recommendation of the magistrate judge and dismissing Simba's 42 U.S.C. § 1983 (2000) complaint as frivolous or for failure to state a claim. We affirm in part and vacate in part.
Having thoroughly reviewed the record, we conclude the district court erred when it found Simba possessed three strikes under the Prison Litigation Reform Act, 28 U.S.C. § 1915(g) (2006) ("PLRA"). Examination of the district court's order in Home v. Martin, No. 5:89-CT-393-BR (E.D.N.C. Nov. 13, 1989), reveals that Simba, under his former name, Joseph Shaw, was denied the right to proceed in forma pauperis, and the action was ultimately dismissed because he failed to remit the required filing fee. Thus, because the action was not dismissed as frivolous, malicious, or for failure to state a claim, it should not have counted as a qualifying strike. Accordingly, we vacate the district court's finding that Simba has three strikes under the PLRA. We affirm the remainder of the district court's order, including the imposition of a limited pre-filing injunction. See Simba v. Branch, No. 1:07-cv-00712-JAB-WWD, 2008 WL 2485863 (M.D.N.C. June 17, 2008).
We dispense with oral argument because the facts and legal contentions are adequately presented in the materials before the court and argument would not aid the decisional process.
AFFIRMED IN PART; VACATED IN PART.