Murphy v. City of Brunswick, Georgia et al

Filing 29

ORDER re: 26 Notice of Appeal, filed by Yvonne L. Murphy. Plaintiff is DENIED leave to proceed on appeal in forma pauperis; the appeal is not taken in good faith. Signed by Chief Judge Lisa G. Wood on 8/27/2015. (csr)

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R the 1initeb 'tate flitrttt Court Jot the boutbern Jittict Of georqta runtoitk JDibiion YVONNE L. MURPHY, Plaintiff, V. CITY OF BRUNSWICK, GEORGIA; and OFFICER CHRISTINE R. DHEEL, Defendants. * * * * * * * * * * CIVIL ACTION NO.: CV215-029 ORDER Before the Court is Plaintiff's Notice of Appeal filed on August 10, 2015. Dkt. No. 26. Plaintiff seeks to appeal this Court's July 22, 2015 Order dismissing Plaintiff's claims and granting Defendants' Motion to Dismiss. Dkt. No. 24. For the reasons set forth below, Plaintiff is DENIED leave to proceed on appeal in forma pauperis. An appeal cannot be taken in forma pauperis if the trial court certifies, either before or after the notice of appeal is filed, that the appeal is not taken in good faith. 28 U.S.C. § 1915(a) (3); FED. R. APP. P. 24(a)(3). Good faith in this context must be judged by an objective standard. Busch v. Cnty. of Volusia, 189 F.R.D. 687, 691 (M.D. Fla. 1999) . A party does not proceed in good faith when it seeks to advance a frivolous claim or argument. See Coppedge v. United States, 369 U.S. 438, 445 (1962); Whitted v. Roberts, Case No. 06-CV-776-KDB, 2010 WL AO 72A (Rev. 8182) 2025391, at *1 (S.D. Ala. Apr. 27, 2010) . A claim or argument is frivolous when it appears the factual allegations are clearly baseless or the legal theories are indisputably meritless. Neitzke v. Williams, 490 U.S. 319, 327 (1989); Carroll v. Gross, 984 F.2d 392, 393 (11th Cir.1993). Or, stated another way, an in forma pauperis action is frivolous and, thus, not brought in good faith, if it is "without arguable merit either in law or fact." Napier v. Preslicka, 314 F.3d 528, 531 (11th Cir.2002); Bilal v. Driver, 251 F.3d 1346, 1349 (11th Cir. 2001) "Arguable means capable of being convincingly argued." Sun v. Forrester, 939 F.2d 924, 925 (11th Cir.1991) (internal quotations and citations omitted). For the reasons set forth in this Court's Order dismissing Plaintiff's Complaint, the claims and arguments Plaintiff seeks to raise on appeal are without arguable merit in either law or fact. Put simply, the Court sees no non-frivolous ground for appeal. Consequently, the Court hereby DENIES Plaintiff leave to appeal in forma pauperis because the appeal is not taken in good faith. 28 U.S.C. § 1915(a) (3). SO ORDERED, this _L1 day _ 0/" , 2015. IA2bBEY WOOD, CHIEF JUDGE STATES DISTRICT COURT SOUTHERN DISTRICT OF GEORGI AO 72A (Rev. 8182) II II 2

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