Cromer v. Sun Life Assurance Company of Canada

Filing 3

ORDER signed by Judge Kimberly J. Mueller on 11/12/14 ORDERING for the foregoing reasons, plaintiff's motion to proceed in forma pauperis is GRANTED. (Becknal, R)

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UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT

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EASTERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA

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PAUL CROMER,

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Plaintiff,

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No. 2:14-cv-01593-KJM-AC

v.

ORDER

SUN LIFE ASSURANCE COMPANY OF
CANADA, and DOES 1 to 100,
Defendant.

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Plaintiff Paul Cromer filed this action under the Employee Retirement Income

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Security Act of 1974, 29 U.S.C. § 1001, et seq., on July 7, 2014. (ECF No. 1.) Plaintiff requests

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permission to proceed in forma pauperis (IFP). (ECF No. 2.) As explained below, the court

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GRANTS plaintiff’s request.

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I.

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DISCUSSION
A party instituting a civil action in a United States district court, except for an

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application for a writ of habeas corpus, must pay a filing fee of $400.00. 28 U.S.C. § 1914. If a

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party, however, is granted leave to proceed in forma pauperis, an action may proceed without

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prepaying the entire fee. See Rodriguez v. Cook, 169 F.3d 1176, 1177 (9th Cir. 1999). To qualify

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for IFP status, a party need not show that he or she is entirely destitute. Adkins v. E.I. DuPont de

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Nemours & Co., 335 U.S. 331, 339–40 (1948). Yet, “the same even-handed care must be

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employed to assure that federal funds are not squandered to underwrite, at public expense, either
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frivolous claims or the remonstrances of a suitor who is financially able, in whole or in material

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part, to pull his own oar.” Temple v. Ellerthorpe, 586 F. Supp. 848, 850 (D.R.I. 1984).

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Here, plaintiff is entitled to IFP status. In the application to proceed without

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prepayment of fees and affidavit, form number AO 240, plaintiff, under penalty of perjury, states

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he has been unemployed since January 15, 2013; has no assets in value; has no income; and has a

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bank account with a $300.00 balance. (ECF No. 2.) Accordingly, based on these circumstances,

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the court grants plaintiff’s request.

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II.

CONCLUSION

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For the foregoing reasons, plaintiff’s motion to proceed in forma pauperis is
GRANTED.
IT IS SO ORDERED
DATED: November 12, 2014.

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UNITED STATES DISTRICT JUDGE

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