DUBOIS v. SWEENEY et al

Filing 2

MEMORANDUM OPINION filed. Signed by Judge Peter G. Sheridan on 3/26/2018. (mps)

A.
N THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
FOR THE DISTRICT OF NEW JERSEY

RODNEY THOMAS DUBOIS,
Plaintiff,

Civil Action
No. 18-3718 (PGS-LHG)

v.
MEMORANDUM OPINION

DONNA SWEENEY, et al.,
Defendants.

SHERIDAN, U.S. District Judge
Plaintiff Rodney Thomas DuBois, a prisoner currently confined at New Jersey State
Prison, Trenton, seeks to bring this civil action informapauperis (“IFP”), without prepayment of
fees or security. IFP Application, Docket Entry 1-1.
Plaintiff’s application indicates that his inmate account routinely exceeds $200. In the
past 6 months he has spent over $100 at the commissary on multiple occasions. IFP status is a
privilege, not a right. Shahin v. Sec. ofDel., 532 F. App’x 123 (3d Cir. 2013) (per curiam) (citing
White v. Cob., 157 F.3d 1226, 1233 (10th Cir. 1998)). “In determining whether a litigant is
eligible for IFP status, the Court should consider the financial position of the party.” Id.
(affirming denial of IFP in spite of monthly income of only $95 from self-employment as
plaintiff would not be deprived of “necessities of life”).
Here, Plaintiff’s income as reflected by the account statement indicates he is able to
afford the $350 filing fee and $50 administrative fee. Requiring him to pay the filing fee would
not deprive him of the necessities of life as the prison provides his food, clothing, and shelter.
Like the plaintiff in Shahin, Plaintiff may have to save in order to pay the filing fee, but such

______

requirement “would not deprive [him] of the ‘necessities of life.” 532 F. App’x at 124. The
Court will therefore deny the application to proceed informa pauperis.
An appropriate order follows.

M7A-4_
Date

PETER G. SHERIDAN
U.S. District Judge

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