Cooper v. Assa Abloy Door Group, LLC

• Court: District Court, W.D. Tennessee
• Decided: April 6, 2022
• Docket: 1:20-cv-01265
• Status: Unknown

Opinion

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT WESTERN DISTRICT OF TENNESSEE EASTERN DIVISION

TERRY COOPER, ) ) Plaintiff, ) ) VS. ) No. 20-1265-STA-jay ) ASSA ABLOY DOOR ) GROUP, LLC, ) ) Defendants. )

ORDER ADOPTING REPORT AND RECOMMENDATION OF MAGISTRATE JUDGE AND ORDER CERTIFYING APPEAL NOT TAKEN IN GOOD FAITH

Before the Court is the United States Magistrate Judge’s Report and Recommendation that Defendant’s motion for summary judgment (ECF No. 23) be granted. Magistrate Judge Jon A. York submitted his Report and Recommendation on March 17, 2022. (ECF No. 24.) Plaintiff has not filed objections to the Magistrate Judge’s Report within the requisite time nor did he respond to the motion for summary judgment. Having reviewed the Magistrate Judge’s Report and Recommendation de novo and the entire record of the proceedings, the Court hereby ADOPTS the Report and Recommendation in its entirety. Defendant’s motion for summary judgment is GRANTED, and the Clerk of the Court is DIRECTED to enter judgment in favor of Defendant. The Court must also consider whether Plaintiff should be allowed to appeal this decision in forma pauperis, should he seek to do so. Pursuant to the Federal Rules of Appellate Procedure, a non-prisoner desiring to proceed on appeal in forma pauperis must obtain pauper status under Fed. R. App. P. 24(a). See Callihan v. Schneider, 178 F.3d 800, 803-04 (6th Cir. 1999). Rule 24(a) provides that if a party seeks pauper status on appeal, he must first file a motion in the district court, along with a supporting affidavit. Fed. R. App. P. 24(a)(1). However, Rule 24(a) also provides that if the district court certifies that an appeal would not be taken in good faith, or otherwise denies leave to appeal in forma pauperis, the party must file his

motion to proceed in forma pauperis in the Court of Appeals. Fed. R. App. P. 24(a)(4)-(5). The good faith standard is an objective one. Coppedge v. United States, 369 U.S. 438, 445 (1962). It would be inconsistent for a district court to determine that Defendant is entitled to summary judgment but the action has sufficient merit to support an appeal in forma pauperis. See Williams v. Kullman, 722 F.2d 1048, 1050 n.1 (2d Cir. 1983). The same considerations that lead the Court to grant Defendant’s motion also compel the conclusion that an appeal would not be taken in good faith. It is CERTIFIED, pursuant to Fed. R. App. P. 24(a), that any appeal in this matter by Plaintiff is not taken in good faith. Leave to proceed on appeal in forma pauperis is, therefore, DENIED. Accordingly, if Plaintiff files a notice of appeal, he must also pay the

full appellate filing fee or file a motion to proceed in forma pauperis and supporting affidavit in the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals within thirty (30) days.1 IT IS SO ORDERED. s/ S. Thomas Anderson S. THOMAS ANDERSON CHIEF UNITED STATES DISTRICT JUDGE

Date: April 6, 2022

1 Pursuant to Fed. R. App. P. 3(a), any notice of appeal should be filed in this court. A motion to appeal in forma pauperis then should be filed directly in the United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit. Unless he is specifically instructed to do so, Plaintiff should not send to this court copies of documents intended for filing in the Sixth Circuit.