Strojnik v. Carte Hotel Ventures, LP

Opinion

PETER STROJNIK, Case No.: 22-CV-1088 TWR (AGS)

Plaintiff, ORDER REQUIRING FILING FEE v. OR APPLICATION TO PROCEED IN FORMA PAUPERIS STATE OF CALIFORNIA, through Rob

Bonta in his official capacity as the Attorney General of the State of California; and CARTÉ HOTEL VENTURES, LP, Defendants.

Plaintiff Peter Strojnik, proceeding pro se, filed a Complaint in July 2022 and a First Amended Complaint in September 2022. (See generally ECF Nos. 1, 4.) Neither Complaint was accompanied by a filing fee or an application to proceed in forma pauperis (“IFP”). All parties instituting any civil action, suit, or proceeding in a district court of the United States, except an application for a writ of habeas corpus, must pay filing and administration fees totaling $402.1 28 U.S.C. § 1914(a). A court may, however, in its

1 In addition to the $350 statutory fee, civil litigants must pay an additional administrative fee of discretion, allow a plaintiff to commence a proceeding without paying these fees if the plaintiff seeks leave to proceed IFP by submitting an affidavit demonstrating the fees }impose financial hardship. See 28 U.S.C. § 1915(a); Escobedo v. Applebees, 787 F.3d 1226, 1234 (9th Cir. 2015). Although the statute does not specify the qualifications for proceeding IFP, the plaintiffs affidavit must allege poverty with some particularity. Escobedo, 787 F.3d at 1234. Granting a plaintiff leave to proceed IFP may be proper, for example, when the affidavit demonstrates that paying court costs will result in a □□□□□□□□□□□ inability to afford the “necessities of life.’ Jd. The affidavit, however, need not demonstrate that the plaintiff is destitute. Jd. Here, Plaintiff has not paid the required filing fee nor filed an application to proceed IFP. Plaintiff is therefore ORDERED to either pay the full $402 filing fee or file an application to proceed IFP within thirty (30) days of the of this Order. If Plaintiff does not timely pay the filing fee or file an application to proceed IFP, the Court will dismiss Plaintiff's Complaint without prejudice. Dated: January 9, 2023 —_—— I [59 bee Honorable Todd W. Robinson United States District Judge ng Schedule, § 14 (eff. Dec. 1, 2020)). The additional $52 administrative fee does not apply to persons granted leave to proceed IFP. Id.