Bowers v. Wal-Mart Stores, Inc.

Filing 3

ORDER signed by Judge Kimberly J. Mueller on 2/4/15 GRANTING 2 Motion to Proceed IFP. (Manzer, C)

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UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT

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EASTERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA

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MARQUETTA BOWERS,

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Plaintiff,

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v.

No. 2:15-cv-00269-KJM-DAD

ORDER

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WAL-MART STORES, INC.,

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Defendant.

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Plaintiff Marquetta Bowers filed this employment action against defendant Wal17
Mart Stores, Inc. (Wal-Mart) on January 30, 2015. ECF No. 1. Plaintiff requests permission to
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proceed in forma pauperis (IFP). ECF No. 2. As explained below, the court GRANTS plaintiff’s
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request.
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I.

DISCUSSION

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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 $350.00. 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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she has been unemployed since December 28, 2014; has no income; has two dependent children;

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and has a bank account with a $200.00 balance. ECF No. 2. Accordingly, based on these

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circumstances, the court finds plaintiff qualifies for IFP status.

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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: February 4, 2015.

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UNITED STATES DISTRICT JUDGE

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