Ketzbeau v. Ivy et al

Filing 10

ORDER Requiring Additional Information re #2 Application to Proceed Without Prepaying Fees or Costs; Response due by 6/17/2024, Signed by District Judge Judith E. Levy. (WBar)

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
EASTERN DISTRICT OF MICHIGAN
SOUTHERN DIVISION
Jesse Ketzbeau,
Plaintiff,
v.

Case No. 24-11006
Judith E. Levy
United States District Judge

Curtis Ivy, Jr., et. al,
Defendants.

Mag. Judge Patricia T. Morris

________________________________/
ORDER REQUIRING ADDITIONAL INFORMATION FOR
APPLICATION TO PROCEED WITHOUT PREPAYING FEES [2]
On April 17, 2024, Plaintiff Jesse Ketzbeau, a pretrial detainee
confined in Clare County Jail, filed a complaint. (ECF No. 1.) Plaintiff did
not pay the necessary filing and administrative fees for commencing a
civil action but accompanied his lawsuit with an application to proceed
in forma pauperis, which is a request to proceed without prepaying fees
or costs. (ECF No. 2.)
A plaintiff instituting a civil action in district court is required to
pay a $350 filing fee plus a fifty-dollar administrative fee before their
case can proceed. 28 U.S.C. § 1914(a). Federal courts “may authorize the

commencement . . . of any suit, action or proceeding . . . without
prepayment of fees . . . by a person who submits an affidavit that includes
a statement . . . that the person is unable to pay such fees.” 28 U.S.C.
§ 1915(a)(1). Inadequate completion of an application to proceed in forma
pauperis is grounds for denial of that application in the Eastern District
of Michigan. See Shaw v. Oakland Cnty. Friend of the Ct., No. 20-12492,
2020 WL 7024912, at *3 (E.D. Mich. Nov. 30, 2020).
Here, Plaintiff’s application is incomplete. Plaintiff partially
completed Question 1 of the application, which states that he is
“incarcerated” and “being held at: Clare County Jail Harrison MI 40625
W. Main 255.” (ECF No. 2, PageID.28.) Question 1 also requests that
Plaintiff “attach to this document a statement certified by the
appropriate institutional officer showing all receipts, expenditures, and
balances during the last six months for any institutional account in [his]
name.” (Id.) Plaintiff did not attach any statements to his application.
Additionally, Plaintiff did not fill out any other portion of the application
to proceed without prepaying fees or costs. (Id. at PageID.28–29
(Questions two through eight).) Without this information, the Court
cannot determine if Plaintiff is unable to pay the applicable fees.
2

Accordingly, Plaintiff must submit a completed Application to
Proceed in District Court Without Prepaying Fees or Costs by Monday,
June 17, 2024. If Plaintiff fails to comply with this order, the case may
be dismissed for failure to prosecute pursuant to Eastern District of
Michigan Local Rule 41.2.
IT IS SO ORDERED.
Dated: June 3, 2024
Ann Arbor, Michigan

s/Judith E. Levy
JUDITH E. LEVY
United States District Judge

CERTIFICATE OF SERVICE
The undersigned certifies that the foregoing document was served
upon counsel of record and any unrepresented parties via the Court’s
ECF System to their respective email or first-class U.S. mail addresses
disclosed on the Notice of Electronic Filing on June 3, 2024.
s/William Barkholz
WILLIAM BARKHOLZ
Case Manager

3