Hall v. Caron

• Court: District Court, D. Connecticut
• Decided: June 10, 2025
• Docket: 3:25-cv-00735
• Status: Unknown

Opinion

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT DISTRICT OF CONNECTICUT

Jeffrey Hall,

Plaintiff, Civil No. 25-cv-00735 (SVN)

v.

Zelynette Caron, et al.,

Defendants. June 10, 2025

RULING AND ORDER ON MOTION FOR LEAVE TO PROCEED IN FORMA PAUPERIS

This is a prison civil rights lawsuit brought by Jeffrey Hall, an inmate at Carl Robinson Correctional Institution. Along with his complaint, Mr. Hall filed two motions for leave to proceed in forma pauperis (“IFP”) – that is, without paying the filing fee. (ECF Nos. 14, 17.) For the following reasons, the first of his two motions will be granted. When a plaintiff files a complaint in federal court, typically he must pay filing and administrative fees totaling $405, see 28 U.S.C. § 1914, but courts may nevertheless authorize a plaintiff to proceed “without prepayment of fees . . . by a person who submits an affidavit that includes a statement . . . that the person is unable to pay such fees.” 28 U.S.C. § 1915(a)(1); see also Coleman v. Tollefson, 575 U.S. 532 (2015) (holding that plaintiffs who qualify for IFP status “may commence a civil action without prepaying fees or paying certain expenses”). When a plaintiff seeks leave to proceed IFP, the court must determine whether he has demonstrated sufficient economic need to proceed without prepaying the required filing fee. 28 U.S.C. § 1915(a)(1). To demonstrate economic need sufficient to justify IFP status, a plaintiff does not need to prove absolute destitution. Potnick v. E. State Hosp., 701 F.2d 243, 244 (2d Cir. 1983) (per curiam). He does, however, need to show that “paying such fees would constitute a serious hardship,” Feibelkorn v. U.S., 77 Fed. Cl. 59, 62 (2007), and that he would not be able to provide himself or his dependents “with the necessities of life.” Adkins v. E.I. DuPont de Nemours & Co., 335 U.S. 331, 339 (1948) (internal quotations omitted).

For an IFP application to be complete, there is an additional procedural requirement. Plaintiffs must submit “a certified copy of [their] trust fund account statement . . . for the 6-month period immediately preceding the filing of the complaint . . . obtained from the appropriate official of each prison at which the prisoner is or was confined.” See 28 U.S.C. § 1915(a)(2). In this case, Mr. Hall cannot afford the $405 filing fee. His trust account statement certified by a prison official shows a balance of $12.39 on May 20, 2025. His trust account statement balances from the six months prior to filing did not exceed $65. Further, his average monthly statement balance for the 6 months before filing his claim was approximately $27, with average monthly deposits of $33 and average monthly expenses on the necessities of life of $5. For the foregoing reasons, Mr. Hall’s first motion for leave to proceed in forma pauperis (ECF No. 14) is

granted, and his second (ECF No. 17) is denied as moot.

/s/ Thomas O. Farrish Hon. Thomas O. Farrish United States Magistrate Judge