Manning v. City of New York

Opinion

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT SOUTHERN DISTRICT OF NEW YORK JAMES MANNING, Plaintiff, 23-CV-2352 (LTS) -against- ORDER DIRECTING PAYMENT OF FEES OR AMENDED IFP APPLICATION CITY OF NEW YORK, et al., Defendants. LAURA TAYLOR SWAIN, Chief United States District Judge: Plaintiff brings this action pro se. To proceed with a civil action in this court, a plaintiff must either pay $402 in fees – a $350 filing fee plus a $52 administrative fee – or, to request authorization to proceed in forma pauperis (“IFP”), that is, without prepayment of fees, submit a signed IFP application. See 28 U.S.C. §§ 1914, 1915. Plaintiff submitted an IFP application, but his responses do not establish that he is unable to pay the fees to bring this action. According to the IFP application, Plaintiff is employed and earns monthly wages of about $4,000, and he receives each month $1,100 from a pension, and $1,700 in Social Security benefits. Plaintiff asserts that he presently has $180 in the bank and he owns a car with an approximate value of $5,000. He further states that he does not have any housing, transportation, utilities, or other regular monthly expenses, and he has no dependents. Plaintiff does claim that he has credit card debts, but he does not provide the amounts he owes for those debts. The information on Plaintiff’s IFP application suggests that he has sufficient income to pay the fees to bring this action. Because Plaintiff does not provide information about his debts, however, it is possible that he is unable to pay the fees because of those financial obligations. The Court, therefore, grants Plaintiff leave to provide any additional information he wishes the Court to consider in determining whether he should be granted leave to proceed IFP. Accordingly, within 30 days of the date of this order, Plaintiff must either pay the $402 in fees or submit an amended IFP application. If Plaintiff submits the amended IFP application, it should be labeled with docket number 23-CV-2352 (LTS), and address the deficiencies described above by providing facts that establish that he is unable to pay the fees to bring this action. If the

Court grants the amended IFP application, Plaintiff will be permitted to proceed without prepayment of fees. See 28 U.S.C. § 1915(a)(1). No summons shall issue at this time. If Plaintiff complies with this order, this action shall be processed in accordance with the procedures of the Clerk’s Office. If Plaintiff fails to comply with this order within the time allowed, the Court will dismiss this action.. The Court certifies under 28 U.S.C. § 1915(a)(3) that any appeal from this order would not be taken in good faith, and therefore IFP status is denied for the purpose of an appeal. Cf. Coppedge v. United States, 369 U.S. 438, 444-45 (1962) (holding that appellant demonstrates good faith when seeking review of a nonfrivolous issue). SO ORDERED.

Dated: March 23, 2023 New York, New York

/s/ Laura Taylor Swain LAURA TAYLOR SWAIN Chief United States District Judge UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT SOUTHERN DISTRICT OF NEW YORK

(Full name(s) of the plaintiff or petitioner applying (each person must submit a separate application) CV C )¢€ ) -against- (Enter case number and initials of assigned judges, if available; if filing this with your complaint, you will not yet have a case number or assigned judges.)

(Full name(s) of the defendant(s)/respondent(s).) APPLICATION TO PROCEED WITHOUT PREPAYING FEES OR COSTS I am a plaintiff/petitioner in this case and declare that I am unable to pay the costs of these proceedings and I believe that I am entitled to the relief requested in this action. In support of this application to proceed in forma pauperis (“TFP”) (without prepaying fees or costs), I declare that the responses below are true: 1. Are you incarcerated? [] Yes [] No “No,” go to Question 2.) Iam being held at: Do you receive any payment from this institution? [_] Yes [] No Monthly amount: If 1am a prisoner, see 28 U.S.C. § 1915(h), [have attached to this document a “Prisoner Authorization” directing the facility where I am incarcerated to deduct the filing fee from my account in installments and to send to the Court certified copies of my account statements for the past six months. See 28 U.S.C. § 1915(a)(2), (b). understand that this means that I will be required to pay the full filing fee. 2. Are you presently employed? [] Yes [] No If “yes,” my employer’s name and address are:

Gross monthly pay or wages: If “no,” what was your last date of employment? Gross monthly wages at the time: 3. In addition to your income stated above (which you should not repeat here), have you or anyone else living at the same residence as you received more than $200 in the past 12 months from any of the following sources? Check all that apply. (a) Business, profession, or other self-employment [] Yes [] No (b) Rent payments, interest, or dividends [] Yes No

SDNY Rev: 12/12/2014

(c) Pension, annuity, or life insurance payments L] Yes [] No (d) Disability or worker’s compensation payments L] Yes [] No (e) Gifts or inheritances [] Yes [] No Any other public benefits (unemployment, social security, (f) Any P efits (unemploy YT es No food stamps, veteran’s, etc.) (g) Any other sources [] Yes No If you answered “Yes” to any question above, describe below or on separate pages each source of money and state the amount that you received and what you expect to receive in the future.

If you answered “No” to all of the questions above, explain how you are paying your expenses:

4. How much money do you have in cash or in a checking, savings, or inmate account?

5. Do you own any automobile, real estate, stock, bond, security, trust, jewelry, art work, or other financial instrument or thing of value, including any item of value held in someone else’s name? If so, describe the property and its approximate value:

6. Do you have any housing, transportation, utilities, or loan payments, or other regular monthly expenses? If so, describe and provide the amount of the monthly expense:

7. List all people who are dependent on you for support, your relationship with each person, and how much you contribute to their support (only provide initials for minors under 18):

8. Do you have any debts or financial obligations not described above? If so, describe the amounts owed and to whom they are payable:

Declaration: I declare under penalty of perjury that the above information is true. I understand that a false statement may result in a dismissal of my claims.

Dated Signature

Name (Last, First, MI) Prison Identification # {if incarcerated)

Address City State Zip Code

Telephone Number E-mail Address (if available) IFP Application, page 2