Ollestad v. City of Mora et al

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UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
DISTRICT OF MINNESOTA
Thomas Richard Ollestad,
Plaintiff,
v.
City of Mora, et al.,
Defendants.
No. 25-cv-3 (KMM/LIB)
ORDER
This matter is before the Court on Plaintiff Thomas Ollestad’s application to
proceed in forma pauperis (“IFP”) on appeal. (Dkt. 28.) On December 30, 2025,
Mr. Ollestad filed a Notice of Appeal to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit
from this Court’s November 18, 2025 Order dismissing his Complaint with prejudice and
denying his Motion to Strike as moot. (Dkt. 27 (Notice of Appeal); Dkt. 25 (Order
dismissing Complaint).) A litigant who seeks to be excused from paying the $605 filing
fee for an appeal in a federal case may apply for IFP status under 28 U.S.C. § 1915. If a
litigant has already received IFP status to proceed in the district court, as Mr. Ollestad has
(Dkt. 3), the litigant may proceed IFP on appeal “without further authorization” unless
the district court finds that the appeal was “not taken in good faith” or the litigant is no
longer eligible for IFP status. Fed. R. App. P. 24(a)(3); see 28 U.S.C. § 1915(a)(3). To
determine whether an appeal is taken in good faith, courts consider whether the claims to
be decided on appeal are frivolous, Coppedge v. United States, 369 U.S. 438, 444–45
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(1962), which is the case when an appeal “lacks an arguable basis either in law or fact.”
Neitzke v. Williams, 490 U.S. 319, 325 (1989).
Having reviewed the representations in Mr. Ollestad’s application to proceed IFP
on appeal, the Court finds that he is financially eligible for IFP status on appeal. Further,
his claims do not appear to be legally or factually frivolous. Mr. Ollestad’s appeal is
therefore found to be taken “in good faith” for purposes of Fed. R. App. P. 24(a)(3).
Accordingly, IT IS HEREBY ORDERED that Plaintiff’s application to proceed
in forma pauperis on appeal (Dkt. 28) is GRANTED.
Date: January 5, 2026 	s/Katherine Menendez
Katherine Menendez
United States District Judge
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