ROLAND JEFFREY ORR II v. TODD ROBERT HATHCOCK

Opinion

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT SOUTHERN DISTRICT OF OHIO WESTERN DIVISION (DAYTON)

ROLAND JEFFREY ORR II, : Case No. 3:26-cv-00083 : Plaintiff, : District Judge Walter H. Rice : Magistrate Judge Caroline H. Gentry vs. : : TODD ROBERT HATHCOCK, : Defendant. :

ORDER FOR AMENDED APPLICATION TO PROCEED IN FORMA PAUPERIS

Currently pending before the undersigned Magistrate Judge is Plaintiff’s Application to proceed in forma pauperis and without prepaying the fees to file the case under 28 U.S.C. § 1915. (“IFP Application,” Doc. No. 1 at PageID 1-3.) For the reasons explained below, the IFP Application is deficient. Plaintiff is therefore ORDERED to file an amended application. “Anyone who files a lawsuit in federal court presumptively must pay a filing fee.” Crump v. Blue, 121 F.4th 1108, 1110 (6th Cir. 2024) (citing 28 U.S.C. § 1914(a)). The total fee amount is $405, which consists of a $350 filing fee and a $55 administrative fee. See 28 U.S.C. § 1914; Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts, District Court Miscellaneous Fee Schedule, available at https://www.uscourts.gov/services-forms/fees/ district-court-miscellaneous-fee-schedule (last visited March 23, 2026). This filing fee is generally due and paid when the case is opened. However, a plaintiff “who cannot pay the fee may ask to proceed ‘in forma pauperis,’ a status that allows the litigant to pay the fee over time or sometimes not at all.” Crump, 121 F.4th at 1110 (citing § 1915(a)-(b)).

“Proceeding in forma pauperis is a privilege and not a right.” Ohio v. Ealy, No. 1:09-cv-245, 2009 WL 1118704, at *1 (S.D. Ohio Apr. 24, 2009) (citing Wilson v. Yaklich, 148 F.3d 596, 603 (6th Cir. 1998)). A litigant need not be absolutely destitute to be granted in forma pauperis status. Adkins v. E.I. DuPont de Nemours & Co., 335 U.S. 331, 339 (1948). “But a litigant does have an obligation of truthfulness in his filings in this Court, as well as a burden to demonstrate that he should be granted in forma pauperis

status.” Wright v. Watson, No. 2:22-cv-4042, 2023 WL 3509656, at *2 (S.D. Ohio May 17, 2023), report and recommendation adopted, 2023 WL 4042170 (S.D. Ohio June 16, 2023). “A plaintiff seeking in forma pauperis standing must respond fully to the questions on the Court’s in forma pauperis form.” West v. AFSCME Bldg. Corp., No. 2:22-cv-2235, 2022 WL 18142399, at *1 (W.D. Tenn. Apr. 14, 2022).

In this case, Plaintiff has not fully answered all the questions on the IFP Application. (Doc. No. 1.) Specifically, Plaintiff indicated that he has “cash on hand or money in a savings, checking, or other account,” but did not answer the question requiring him to state the combined total amount. (Id. at PageID 3.) Plaintiff also did not answer the question requiring him to list his “creditors, including banks, loan companies,

charge accounts, personal loans, rent, utilities, child support, etc., and the amount you pay each month on each bill/obligation.” (Id.) If he has no creditors or monthly bills, he should so state on his application. Without this information, the Court cannot determine whether Plaintiff’s poverty prevents him from paying the filing fees in this case while still providing for the necessities of life.

The Court ORDERS Plaintiff to complete fully and accurately an Amended Application to proceed in forma pauperis and then submit it to the Court by April 21, 2026. If he fails to respond to this Order, the undersigned may recommend to the District Judge that his IFP Application be denied, or that the case be dismissed due to failure to comply with a Court order. In the alternative, Plaintiff may pay $405 to the Clerk of Court by April 21, 2026.

Plaintiff is ADVISED that he must promptly notify the Court if his mailing address changes while this case is pending. He may wish to review the resources for pro se parties on the Court’s website, https://www.ohsd.uscourts.gov/pro-se. He may also find and monitor the status of this case via the federal courts’ PACER Case Locator service, https://pcl.uscourts.gov/pcl/index.jsf.

IT IS SO ORDERED. s/Caroline H. Gentry Caroline H. Gentry United States Magistrate Judge