GREENE v. LANIGAN et al

Filing 4

OPINION. Signed by Judge Kevin McNulty on 12/20/2017. (ld, )

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
DISTRICT OF NEW JERSEY
JOHN E. GREENE,
Plaintiff,

Civ. No. 17-529 1 (KM) (JBC)

v.
GARY LANIGAN et al.,

OPINION

Defendants.

KEVIN MCNULTY, U.S.D.J.
Plaintiff pro Se, John E. Greene, a person subject to civil commitment by the Slate, seeks
to proceed with a civil rights complaint. Previously, this Court denied Mr. Greene’s initial

application to proceed informapauperis without prejudice, as it was not filed on the proper form
and did not include sufficient information for the court to make its determination.’ (ECF No. 2.)
Consequently, the case was administratively terminated. (Id.)
Mr. Greene has now filed a new application to proceed in formapauperis that includes
additional information. (ECF No. 3.) The case will be reopened so that the Court may consider
this application.
Mr. Greene’s new application indicates that Mr. Greene receives monthly income of
$582.00, and an included trust account statement indicates a spendable balance of $4687.11.
(ECF Nos. 3, 3-2). Inforniapauperis status is a privilege, not a right. Shahin v. Sec y ofState of
DeL, 532 F. App’x 123, 123—24 (3d Cir. 2013) (affirming infonnapauperis denial where
plaintiff’s monthly income was only $95, as paying filing fee “would not deprive her of the
A plaintiff who seeks to proceed informapauperis must submit an affidavit, including a
statement of all assets, showing that the prisoner is unable to pay the applicable filing fee. See 28
U.S.C. § 1915(a)(1).

necessities of life” (internal quotation marks omitted)). Here, Mr. Greene’s income and savings,
as reflected by the trust account statement, indicate that he is able to afford the $350 filing fee
and $50 administrative fee. There is no indication that requiring him to pay the filing fee would
deprive him of the necessities of life. See Shahin, 532 F. App’x at 124. The Court will therefore
deny the application to proceed in forma pauperis.
Accordingly, the Clerk of the Court will be ordered to re-administratively terminate the
case. Plaintiff may reopen this action, however, by paying the required filing fee or, if his
circumstances change, filing a renewed application to proceed informapaziperis.

DATED: December 20, 2017
KEVIN MCNULTY
United States District Judge