(a) An inmate seeking to bring a civil action or appeal a judgment in a civil action or proceeding without prepayment of fees or security for the fees, in addition to filing the affidavit required by § 41-21-805, shall submit a certified copy of the trust fund account statement, or the institutional equivalent, for the inmate for the six-month period immediately preceding the filing of the complaint or notice of appeal, obtained from the appropriate official of each facility at which the inmate is or was confined.
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Terms Used In Tennessee Code 41-21-807

  • Affidavit: A written statement of facts confirmed by the oath of the party making it, before a notary or officer having authority to administer oaths.
  • Appeal: A request made after a trial, asking another court (usually the court of appeals) to decide whether the trial was conducted properly. To make such a request is "to appeal" or "to take an appeal." One who appeals is called the appellant.
  • Assets: (1) The property comprising the estate of a deceased person, or (2) the property in a trust account.
  • Claim: means any lawsuit or appeal filed by an inmate except a petition for post-conviction relief. See Tennessee Code 41-21-801
  • Complaint: A written statement by the plaintiff stating the wrongs allegedly committed by the defendant.
  • In forma pauperis: In the manner of a pauper. Permission given to a person to sue without payment of court fees on claim of indigence or poverty.
  • Inmate: means a person housed in a facility operated by the department, housed in a county jail or housed in a correctional facility operated by a private corporation pursuant to a contract with the state or local government. See Tennessee Code 41-21-801
  • Month: means a calendar month. See Tennessee Code 1-3-105
  • State: when applied to the different parts of the United States, includes the District of Columbia and the several territories of the United States. See Tennessee Code 1-3-105
  • Statute: A law passed by a legislature.
  • United States: includes the District of Columbia and the several territories of the United States. See Tennessee Code 1-3-105
(b)

(1) If an inmate brings a civil action or files an appeal in forma pauperis, the inmate shall be required to pay the full amount of the filing fee. The court shall assess and, when funds exist, collect, as a partial payment of any court fees required by law, an initial partial filing fee of twenty percent (20%) of the greater of the average monthly:

(A) Deposits to the inmate’s account; or
(B) Balance in the inmate’s account for the six-month period immediately preceding the filing of the complaint or notice of appeal.
(2) After payment of the initial partial filing fee, the inmate shall be required to make monthly payments of twenty percent (20%) of the preceding month‘s income credited to the inmate’s account. The agency having custody of the inmate shall forward payments from the inmate’s account to the clerk of the court each time the amount in the account exceeds ten dollars ($10.00) until the filing fees are paid.
(3) In no event shall the filing fee collected exceed the amount of fees permitted by statute for the commencement of a civil action or an appeal of a civil action or criminal judgment.
(4) In no event shall an inmate be prohibited from bringing a civil action or appealing a civil or criminal judgment for the reason that the inmate has no assets and no means by which to pay the initial partial filing fee.
(c) In no event shall an inmate bring a civil action or appeal a judgment in a civil action or proceeding under this section if the inmate has, on three (3) or more prior occasions, while incarcerated or detained in any facility, brought an action or appeal in a court of this state or the United States that was dismissed on the grounds that it was frivolous, malicious or failed to state a claim upon which relief may be granted, unless the inmate is under imminent danger of serious physical injury.
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