GIBBS v. DURK, et al.

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# UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT DISTRICT OF NEW JERSEY

TYQUAN D. GIBBS,
Plaintiff,
V.
LIL DURK, et al.,
Defendant.

No. 26cv4008 (EP) (AME)

MEMORANDUM ORDER

PADIN, District Judge.

Pro se Plaintiff Tyquan D. Gibbs brings this action against Defendants Lil Durk and others.
D.E. 1 ("Complaint"). As best as the Court can tell, Plaintiff asserts civil rights claims arising
from alleged conduct involving the Prudential Center and several New Jersey medical providers.
Plaintiff has also filed an application to proceed in forma pauperis ("IFP"), D.E. 1-1 ("IFP
Application"), and a motion to change venue to the United States District Court for the District of
Columbia, D.E. 5 ("Venue Motion"). Because Plaintiff has failed to submit the financial
information required to proceed IFP, the Court will DENY his IFP Application without prejudice
and will not reach the merits of his Venue Motion at this time.

## I. ANALYSIS

Under 28 U.S.C. § 1915, this Court may excuse a litigant from prepayment of fees when
the litigant "establish[es] that he is unable to pay the costs of his suit." Walker v. People Express
Airlines, Inc., 886 F.2d 598, 601 (3d Cir. 1989). To establish such need, a litigant must file in
good faith an affidavit stating, among other things, that he or she is unable to pay the costs of the
lawsuit. See Owens v. Jeneby, No. 24-11222, 2025 WL 1393205, at *1 (D.N.J. May 14, 2025). A
plaintiff's failure to provide the financial information necessary to evaluate his ability to pay

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renders an IFP application incomplete. Id .; see also Rohn v. Johnston, 415 F. App'x 353, 355 (3d
Cir. 2011).

A prisoner seeking to proceed IFP must also submit "a certified copy of the trust fund
account statement ... for the prisoner for the 6-month period immediately preceding the filing of
the complaint." 28 U.S.C. § 1915(a)(2). Here, Plaintiff submitted the Court's prisoner IFP form,
including a certification signed by a prison official. See IFP Application. But he did not submit
the required certified copy of his inmate trust fund account statement for the six-month period
preceding the filing of the Complaint. Id. Plaintiff therefore has not satisfied § 1915(a)(2), and
without the account statement, the Court cannot determine his financial status or calculate any
initial partial filing fee required under § 1915(b). See Coles v. New Jersey Dep't of Corr.,
No. 26-3476, 2026 WL 928596, at *1 (D.N.J. Apr. 6, 2026) (denying IFP application where
plaintiff failed to submit a certified six-month account statement signed by an appropriate prison
official).

Accordingly, the Court will DENY Plaintiff's IFP Application without prejudice. See
Rohn, 415 F. App'x at 355. The Court will provide Plaintiff 30 days to either pay the required
filing fee or submit a complete IFP application with the required certified account statement.1
Because Plaintiff has not satisfied the threshold filing fee requirement, the Court will not address
his Venue Motion at this time. Accordingly, the Venue Motion will be DENIED without
prejudice to renewal if this matter is reopened.

1 Because the Court has not granted Plaintiff IFP status, the Court will not screen the Complaint
pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 1915(e)(2)(B). The Court notes, however, that the Complaint is difficult
to discern and lacks meaningful context regarding Plaintiff's claims and the allegations against
each Defendant.

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## II. CONCLUSION AND ORDER

For the foregoing reasons,

IT IS, on this 9th day of October, 2026,

ORDERED that the Clerk of Court shall mark the Complaint, D.E. 1, as received; and it
is further

ORDERED that Plaintiff's IFP Application, D.E. 1-1, is DENIED without prejudice; and
it is further

ORDERED that Plaintiff has 30 days from the date of this Order to either pay the required
filing fee or submit an amended IFP Application that includes a certified copy of his inmate trust
fund account statement for the six-month period immediately preceding the filing of the
Complaint, as required by 28 U.S.C. § 1915(a)(2); and it is further

ORDERED that Plaintiff's Venue Motion, D.E. 5, is DENIED without prejudice to
renewal if this matter is reopened; and it is further

ORDERED that the Clerk of Court shall CLOSE this matter, subject to reopening by the
Court upon Plaintiff's timely filing of an amended IFP Application. If Plaintiff fails to timely file
an amended IFP Application, the Complaint may be dismissed without prejudice under Federal
Rule of Civil Procedure 41(b) for failure to prosecute; and it is finally

ORDERED that the Clerk of Court shall send a copy of this Order to Plaintiff by regular
mail.

Sinhun Parche

Evelyn Padin, U.S.D.J.