Moore v. City of Dayton Law Department et al

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
SOUTHERN DISTRICT OF OHIO
WESTERN DIVISION(DAYTON)
STEPHEN MOORE,
Plaintiff,
vs.
CITY OF DAYTON
LAW DEPARTMENT, et al.,
Defendants.
CaseNo. 3:26-cv-00013
District Judge Thomas M. Rose
Magistrate Judge Caroline H. Gentry
ORDER FOR AMENDED APPLICATION
TO PROCEEDIN FORMA PAUPERIS
Plaintiff Stephen Moore recently submitted a pro se civil rights Complaint and
related documents to this Court. He alleges, among other things, that he "is being unlawfully
restrained from providing life-saving care to his 90-year-old disabled mother, Rocine
Moore, based on a [state] charge that is legally void under Ohio law. " (Complaint, Doc. No.
1-1 at PageID7. ) This casehas been assigned to District JudgeThomas M. Rose. Certain
matters have been referred to the undersigned Magistrate Judge pursuant to 28 U. S. C. §
636(b) and this Court's Amended General Order No. DAY 21-01.
Currently pending before the Court is Plaintiffs Application to proceed informa
pauperis andwithout prepaying the fees to file the case. ("IFFApplication, " Doc. No. 1 at
PageID 1-3. ) For the reasons explained below, the IFP Application is deficient and Plaintiff
must file an Amended Application.
"Anyone who files a lawsuit in federal court presumptively must pay a filing fee."
Crump v. Blue, 121 F. 4th 1108, 1110 (6th Cir. 2024) (citing 28 U. S. C. § 1914(a)). The total
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fee amount is $405, which consists of a $350 filing fee and a $55 administrative fee. See 28
U. S. C. § 1914; Administrative Office ofthe U. S. Courts, District Court Miscellaneous Fee
Schedule, available at https://www. uscourts. gov/services-forms/fees/district-court-
miscellaneous-fee-schedule (last visited January 14, 2026). This filing fee is generally due
andpaidwhenthe case is opened andthe casewill not proceed until payment is made.
However, a plaintiff "who cannot pay the fee may ask to proceed 'in forma pauperise a
status that allows the litigant to pay the fee over time or sometimes not at all. " Crump, 121
F. 4th at 1110 (citing § 1915(a)-(b)).
"Proceeding in forma pauperis is a privilege and not a right. " 0/!;o v. £'a/y. No. 1:09-
cv-245, 2009 WL 1118704, at * 1 (S. D. Ohio Apr. 24, 2009) (citing Wilson v. Yaklich, 148
F. 3d 596, 603 (6th Cir. 1998)). A litigant need not be absolutely destitute to be granted in
forma pauperis status. Adkins v. E. I. DuPont de Nemours & Co., 335 U. S. 331, 339(1948).
"But a litigant does have an obligation oftruthfulness in his filings in this Court, aswell as a
burden to demonstrate that he should be granted in forma pauperis status. " Wright v.
Watson, No. 2:22-cv-4042, 2023 WL 3509656, at *2 (S. D. Ohio May 17, 2023), report and
recommendation adopted, 2023 WL 4042170 (S. D. Ohio June 16, 2023). "A plaintiff
seeking informa pauperis standing must respond fully to the questions on the Court's in
forma pauperis form. " Westv. AFSCMEBldg. Corp., No. 2:22-cv-2235, 2022 WL
18142399, at *1 (W. D. Tenn. Apr. 14, 2022).
Here, the IFP Application appears to be incomplete. (Doc. No. 1. ) Plaintiff states,
under penalty ofperjury, that he is not currently employed and has not been employed since
2012. (Id. at PageID2. ) He indicates that he hasnot "received any income from a business,
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profession or other form ofself-employment, or in the form of rent payments, retirement
benefits, annuity payments, interest or dividends, or an other source" in the pasttwelve
months. (Id. [emphasis added]. ) He further states that he has no assets or "cash on hand or
money in a savings, checking, or other account. " (Id. at PageID3. ) Nevertheless, Plaintiff
states that he pays five monthly bills totaling several hundred dollars per month. (M) It is
unclear how Plaintiff supports himself and pays these bills with no income, assets, or other
money. Given this incongmity, the Court cannot determine whether Plaintiffshould be
allowed to proceed in forma pauperis in this case.
The Court ORDERS Plaintiff to complete fully and accuratel an Amended
Application to proceed informa pauperis and then submit it to this Court b Janua 28
2026. If he fails to respond to this Order, the undersigned may recommend to the District
Judge that his IFP Application be denied, or that the case be dismissed due to failure to
comply with a Court order. In the alternative, Plaintiffmay pay $405 to the Clerk ofCourt
byJanua 28 2026.
Plaintiff is ADVISED that he must notify the Court if his mailing address changes
while this case is pending. He may wish to review the resources for pro se parties on the
Court'swebsite. 5'eehtt s://www. ohsd. uscourts. ov/ ro-se.
IT IS SO ORDERED.
s/Caroline H. Gent
Caroline H. Gentry
United States Magistrate Judge
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