Filed: Mar. 16, 2018
Latest Update: Mar. 16, 2018
Summary: ORDER KENDALL J. NEWMAN , Magistrate Judge . Presently pending before the court is plaintiff's motion for leave to proceed in forma pauperis pursuant to 28 U.S.C. 1915. (ECF No. 2.) The affidavit in support of the motion indicates that plaintiff, who has no dependents, receives a pension of $3,500.00 per month, i.e., approximately $42,000.00 per year. According to the United States Department of Health and Human Services, the poverty guideline for a household of 1 person not residing i
Summary: ORDER KENDALL J. NEWMAN , Magistrate Judge . Presently pending before the court is plaintiff's motion for leave to proceed in forma pauperis pursuant to 28 U.S.C. 1915. (ECF No. 2.) The affidavit in support of the motion indicates that plaintiff, who has no dependents, receives a pension of $3,500.00 per month, i.e., approximately $42,000.00 per year. According to the United States Department of Health and Human Services, the poverty guideline for a household of 1 person not residing in..
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ORDER
KENDALL J. NEWMAN, Magistrate Judge.
Presently pending before the court is plaintiff's motion for leave to proceed in forma pauperis pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 1915. (ECF No. 2.)
The affidavit in support of the motion indicates that plaintiff, who has no dependents, receives a pension of $3,500.00 per month, i.e., approximately $42,000.00 per year. According to the United States Department of Health and Human Services, the poverty guideline for a household of 1 person not residing in Alaska or Hawaii is $12,140.00 for 2018. See https://aspe.hhs.gov/poverty-guidelines. Thus, plaintiff's gross household income is over 300% of the 2018 poverty guideline.
Presently, a filing fee of $400.00 is required to commence a civil action in this court. The court may authorize the commencement of an action "without prepayment of fees or security therefor" by a person that is unable to pay such fees or provide security therefor. 28 U.S.C. § 1915(a)(1). Here, the court cannot find that plaintiff is unable to pay, or provide security for, the court filing fee. To be sure, the court is sympathetic to the fact that plaintiff does not have a large income, and also has several expenses to contend with. However, numerous litigants in this court have significant monthly expenditures, and may have to make difficult choices as to which expenses to incur, which expenses to reduce or eliminate, and how to apportion their income between such expenses and litigating an action in federal court. Such difficulties in themselves do not amount to indigency. Moreover, in this case, plaintiff's affidavit lists monthly expenses totaling approximately $2,050.00, leaving about $1,450.00 of plaintiff's monthly income available for paying filing fees.
Accordingly, IT IS HEREBY ORDERED that:
1. Plaintiff's motion to proceed in forma pauperis (ECF No. 2) is DENIED.
2. Within 28 days of this order, plaintiff shall pay the applicable filing fee. However, the court will entertain a request for a reasonable extension of time to pay the fee should such an extension be necessary.
3. Failure to timely pay the filing fee, or timely request an extension of time to do so, may result in dismissal of the action pursuant to Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 41(b).
IT IS SO ORDERED.
