Source: s3://data.kl3m.ai/documents/govinfo/USCOURTS/USCOURTS-caed-2_15-cv-00269/USCOURTS-caed-2_15-cv-00269-0/pdf.json

Nature of Suit Code: 442
Nature of Suit: Civil Rights Employment
Cause of Action: 28:1332 Diversity-Employment Discrimination

---

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 

1

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT 

EASTERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA 

MARQUETTA BOWERS, 

Plaintiff, 

v. 

WAL-MART STORES, INC., 

Defendant. 

No. 2:15-cv-00269-KJM-DAD 

ORDER 

 Plaintiff Marquetta Bowers filed this employment action against defendant WalMart Stores, Inc. (Wal-Mart) on January 30, 2015. ECF No. 1. Plaintiff requests permission to 

proceed in forma pauperis (IFP). ECF No. 2. As explained below, the court GRANTS plaintiff’s 

request. 

I. DISCUSSION 

 A party instituting a civil action in a United States district court, except for an 

application for a writ of habeas corpus, must pay a filing fee of $350.00. 28 U.S.C. § 1914. If a 

party, however, is granted leave to proceed in forma pauperis, an action may proceed without 

prepaying the entire fee. See Rodriguez v. Cook, 169 F.3d 1176, 1177 (9th Cir. 1999). To qualify 

for IFP status, a party need not show that he or she is entirely destitute. Adkins v. E.I. DuPont de 

Nemours & Co., 335 U.S. 331, 339–40 (1948). Yet, “the same even-handed care must be 

employed to assure that federal funds are not squandered to underwrite, at public expense, either 

Case 2:15-cv-00269-KJM-DAD Document 3 Filed 02/04/15 Page 1 of 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 

2

frivolous claims or the remonstrances of a suitor who is financially able, in whole or in material 

part, to pull his own oar.” Temple v. Ellerthorpe, 586 F. Supp. 848, 850 (D.R.I. 1984). 

 Here, plaintiff is entitled to IFP status. In the application to proceed without 

prepayment of fees and affidavit, form number AO 240, plaintiff, under penalty of perjury, states 

she has been unemployed since December 28, 2014; has no income; has two dependent children; 

and has a bank account with a $200.00 balance. ECF No. 2. Accordingly, based on these 

circumstances, the court finds plaintiff qualifies for IFP status. 

II. CONCLUSION 

 For the foregoing reasons, plaintiff’s motion to proceed in forma pauperis is 

GRANTED. 

 IT IS SO ORDERED 

DATED: February 4, 2015. 

 

Case 2:15-cv-00269-KJM-DAD Document 3 Filed 02/04/15 Page 2 of 2