Haynie v. TransUnion LLC

1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
WO
IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
FOR THE DISTRICT OF ARIZONA
Howard Leon Haynie,
Plaintiff,
v.
TransUnion LLC,
Defendant.
No. CV-25-00668-TUC-JCH
ORDER
Pro se Plaintiff Howard Leon Haynie has filed a Complaint alleging violations of
the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) (Doc. 1). Plaintiff also filed an Application to
Proceed In District Court Without Prepaying Fees or Costs (“Application”) (Doc. 2) and a
Motion to Allow Electronic Filing by a Party Appearing Without an Attorney (“Motion”)
(Doc. 3). The Court will grant the Motion and deny the Application without prejudice.
I. Motion to Allow Electronic Filing
Plaintiff’s Motion includes a declaration affirming that he is willing and able to
comply with the electronic filing requirements. Doc. 3. Accordingly, the Court will grant
the Motion. Plaintiff is reminded that pro se litigants must generally follow the same court
rules and procedures as represented litigants. See Carter v. Comm’r, 784 F.2d 1006, 1009
(9th Cir. 1986). Plaintiff should review the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure and the Local
Rules of Civil Procedure to avoid impermissible findings.
///
///
Case 4:25-cv-00668-JCH Document 8 Filed 02/11/26 Page 1 of 3

- 2 -
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
II. Application to Proceed In District Court Without Prepaying Fees and Costs
Plaintiff’s Application asserts he cannot pay the costs associated with this case
because he has no income and less than $1,000 in savings and assets. See Doc. 2 at 1–3.
Plaintiff also asserts he has two dependents but only $350 in monthly expenses from food,
laundry and dry cleaning, and car insurance. See id. at 3–4. Defendant reports he was
employed at KOA from September 2024 to April 2025, and Safeway from April 2025 to
October 2025, but the Applications lists $0 in monthly income for the past 12 months. Put
simply, the numbers are plainly inaccurate.
Further, Plaintiff has filed two other suits in this District within the past three
months, and his applications in each case are substantively different. For example,
Plaintiff’s applications in 25-CV-684-RM and 26-CV-011-JCH list three children as
dependents, but the IFP Application here lists only two. Plaintiff’s application in 25-CV-
684-RM, which was filed less than a week after the Application here, did not report the
same employment in the last 12 months. Finally, there are unexplainable differences in the
listed values of Plaintiff’s assets and monthly expenses between the applications (e.g., on
December 4, 2025, Plaintiff’s vehicle was worth $250, but on January 7, 2026, it was worth
$100).
The disparities within the Application here and between the applications in
Plaintiff’s three pending cases indicate the numbers Plaintiff reported here are probably
not accurate. Accordingly, the Court declines to use its discretion to grant Plaintiff in forma
pauperis status. The Court will give Plaintiff 30 days from the date of this Order to pay the
$350.00 filing fee and the $55.00 administrative fee or file a renewed application
addressing the issues identified above. Failure to pay these fees or file a renewed
application within 30 days will result in the dismissal of this case without further notice.
The Court notes for Plaintiff that the declarations made in his last Application were
made “under penalty of perjury.” The Court expects Plaintiff will ensure that his
declarations are accurate should he file a renewed application.
///
Case 4:25-cv-00668-JCH Document 8 Filed 02/11/26 Page 2 of 3

- 3 -
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
III. Order
Accordingly,
IT IS ORDERED granting Plaintiff’s Motion to Allow Electronic Filing (Doc. 3).
Plaintiff has already completed the Electronic Case File Registration Form to register as a
user with the Clerk's Office and as a subscriber to PACER (Public Access to Electronic
Records). The Clerk of the Court shall process Plaintiff's request (Doc. 3-2) and notify
Plaintiff if anything further is needed to access electronic filing.
IT IS FURTHER ORDERED denying Plaintiff’s Application to Proceed In
District Court Without Prepaying Fees or Costs (Doc. 2). Plaintiff must pay the $350.00
filing fee and the $55.00 administrative fee or file a renewed application within 30 days of
the date of this Order. If Petitioner fails to either pay the fees or file a renewed application
within 30 days, the Clerk of Court must enter a judgment of dismissal of this action without
prejudice and without further notice to Plaintiff and deny any pending unrelated motions
as moot.
Dated this 10th day of February, 2026.
Case 4:25-cv-00668-JCH Document 8 Filed 02/11/26 Page 3 of 3