Ott v. Berryhill

Filing 5

ORDER signed by Judge Pamela Pepper on 11/27/2017 DENYING without prejudice 3 plaintiff's motion for leave to proceed without prepayment of the filing fee. By 12/8/2017 plaintiff to either re-file motion or pay full filing fee. See order for details. (cc: all counsel) (cb)

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
EASTERN DISTRICT OF WISCONSIN

JUSTIN WILLIAM OTT,
Plaintiff,
v.

Case No. 17-cv-1591-pp

NANCY A. BERRYHILL,
Acting Commissioner of Social Security
Defendant.
ORDER DENYING WITHOUT PREJUDICE PLAINTIFF’S MOTION FOR
LEAVE TO PROCEED WITH PREPAYMENT OF THE FILING
FEE (DKT. NO. 3)

On November 14, 2017 the plaintiff filed a complaint, asking the court to
review an unfavorable final decision of the Commissioner of Social Security.
Dkt. No. 1. The caption lists “Justin William Ott” as the plaintiff, and the body
lists “Justin William Ott” as the claimant. Id.
With the complaint, the plaintiff filed a motion for leave to proceed
without prepayment of the filing fee. Dkt. No. 3. The affidavit at the bottom of
the application, however—which states that the person who signs it “declare[s]
that I am the plaintiff bringing this complaint”—is signed by the plaintiff’s
mother, Marla Metzler. Id. at 4. It also appears that Ms. Metzler may have filled
out the fee request form; the answer to the “[d]o you have any dependents that
you are responsible for supporting?” question is “Justin Ott,” and under the
“Relationship to You” heading, the word “Son” appears. Id. at 1.
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The court cannot evaluate the plaintiff’s motion for leave to proceed
without prepayment of the filing fee without assurance that the form reflects
the financial circumstances of the plaintiff himself. Neither the complaint nor
the application for waiver of the fee indicate that the plaintiff is unable to
complete the form himself. Perhaps the plaintiff does not have any income of
his own. If so, he should fill out the application, explain that he has no income,
and explain how he is paying for food and shelter
The DENIES WITHOUT PREJUDICE the plaintiff’s motion for leave to
proceed without prepayment of the filing fee. Dkt. No. 3. The court ORDERS
that the plaintiff either shall re-file his motion for leave to proceed without
prepayment of the filing fee or pay the filing fee in full no later than the end of
the day on December 8, 2017. If the plaintiff does not do one of those two
things by the end of the day on December 8, the court may dismiss the appeal
for lack of prosecution.
Dated in Milwaukee, Wisconsin this 27th day of November, 2017.
BY THE COURT:
_____________________________________
HON. PAMELA PEPPER
United States District Judge

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