Plucinski v. Payette County et al

Filing 16

MEMORANDUM DECISION AND ORDER granting in part and denying in part 15 Motion for Bond. IT IS FURTHER ORDERED, that the plaintiff shall file a bond in the sum of $500.00 pursuant to Idaho Code 6-610 on or before 6/10/2016. Signed by Judge Candy W. Dale. (caused to be mailed to non Registered Participants at the addresses listed on the Notice of Electronic Filing (NEF) by (cjs)(Emailed to jd and hg in Finance.)

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
FOR THE DISTRICT OF IDAHO

ALMA PLUCINSKI,
Case No. 1:16-cv-00153-CWD
Plaintiff,
MEMORANDUM DECISION AND
ORDER

v.
PAYETTE COUNTY; PAYETTE
COUNTY BOARD OF
COMMISSIONERS; PAYETTE
COUNTY PLANNING AND ZONING
COMMISSION; CHAD HENGGELER
in his official and individual capacity;
BERT OSBORN in his official and
individual capacity; GARRY TOTH in
his official and individual capacity; and
DOES I-X,
Defendants.

INTRODUCTION
The Court has before it plaintiff Alma Plucinski’s motion to waive fees, or,
alternatively, to set bond. For the reasons explained below, the Court will require a bond
of $500.

MEMORANDUM DECISION AND ORDER - 1

ANALYSIS
Plucinski has sued, among other defendants, Officer Garry Toth of the Payette
City Police Department. The plaintiff is required by Idaho Code § 6–610(2) to post a
bond to cover costs when she initiates suit against a law enforcement officer. A court
may, however, waive costs, fees and security for indigents. See Idaho Code § 31–3220. If
a party files an affidavit stating that she is indigent and unable to pay the costs, fees and
security associated with her case, the court can waive them if it finds, after informal
inquiry, that the party is indigent. See Idaho Code § 31–3220(2). This statute applies to
bonds required under Idaho Code § 6-610. Taysom v. Bannock County, 2012 WL 397734
(D. Idaho Feb. 7, 2012).
Plucinski filed such an affidavit claiming she is indigent. She includes in her
affidavit her full legal name, her income, her spouse’s income, the real and personal
property she owns, her cash and checking accounts, her dependents, her debts, her
monthly expenses, the nature of the action, and the basis for redress as required by Idaho
Code § 31–3220A.
To summarize that information, she and her husband earn $6,000 per month. They
have a $429,000.00 mortgage on their residence, miscellaneous consumer debt in the
amount of $60,000.00, and their monthly expenses are $5,600.00. They have not
indicated they have any savings, investments, or retirement accounts. Based upon the
assessed value of their home, Plaintiff indicates she has little equity in her residence. This
information shows that Plucinski is financially strapped but not indigent.

MEMORANDUM DECISION AND ORDER - 2

The Court will therefore deny Plucinski’s motion to the extent it seeks a waiver of
the bond requirement. In the alternative, her motion asks the Court to set a bond amount
in the amount of $500.00, due to the difficulty in securing a bond in Idaho of this nature.
Consistent with the Court’s Order in Raymond v. Sloan, Case No. 1:13-cv-423-BLW (D.
Idaho Dec. 6, 2013), 1 the Court will set the bond at $500.00.
ORDER
In accordance with the Memorandum Decision set forth above,
NOW THEREFORE IT IS HEREBY ORDERED, that the motion to waive
fees or, alternatively, to set bond (Dkt. 15) is GRANTED IN PART AND DENIED IN
PART. It is granted to the extent it seeks the setting of a bond amount but is denied to the
extent it seeks a waiver of the bond.
IT IS FURTHER ORDERED, that the plaintiff shall file a bond in the sum of
$500.00 pursuant to Idaho Code 6-610 on or before June 10, 2016.

DATED: May 17, 2016

_________________________
Honorable Candy W. Dale
United States Magistrate Judge

1

In that case, which alleged a similar civil rights violation against a police officer, the Court set bond at $500.00.

MEMORANDUM DECISION AND ORDER - 3