Document ID: s3://data.kl3m.ai/documents/govinfo/USCOURTS/USCOURTS-caed-2_15-cv-01358/USCOURTS-caed-2_15-cv-01358-0/pdf.json

Parties Involved:
Mabel Norse
Plaintiff
State of California Department of Motor Vehicles
Defendant

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UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT

FOR THE EASTERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA

MABEL NORSE,

Plaintiff,

v.

STATE OF CALIFORNIA 

DEPARTMENT OF MOTOR VEHICLES,

Defendant.

No. 2:15-cv-1358-JAM-KJN PS

ORDER

Presently pending before the court is plaintiff’s motion for leave to proceed without the 

prepayment of fees and costs, also referred to as in forma pauperis, pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 

1915.1 (ECF No. 2.) The affidavit in support of the motion states that plaintiff receives monthy 

net income of $3,638.01. (Id.) Plaintiff has no dependents. (Id.)

Presently, a filing fee of $400.00 is required to commence a civil action in this court. The

court may authorize the commencement of an action “without prepayment of fees or security 

therefor” by a person that is unable to pay such fees or provide security therefor. 28 U.S.C. § 

1915(a)(1). Here, the court cannot find that plaintiff is unable to pay the court filing fee, because 

her annual income of $43,656.12 is well over 300% of the 2015 federal poverty guideline. See

 

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This case was referred to the undersigned pursuant to E.D. Cal. L.R. 302(c)(21).

 

Case 2:15-cv-01358-JAM-KJN Document 3 Filed 08/24/15 Page 1 of 2
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http://aspe.hhs.gov/2015-poverty-guidelines. 

The court is sympathetic to the fact that plaintiff does not earn a vast amount of annual 

income and that plaintiff also has several expenses with which to contend. However, numerous 

litigants in this court have significant monthly expenditures and sometimes face difficult choices 

as to which expenses to incur, which expenses to reduce or eliminate, and how to apportion their 

income between such expenses and litigating an action in federal court. Such difficulties in 

themselves do not amount to indigence. 

Accordingly, IT IS HEREBY ORDERED that:

1. Plaintiff’s motion to proceed in forma pauperis (ECF No. 2) is denied.

2. Within 28 days of this order, plaintiff shall pay the applicable filing fee. However, the 

court will entertain a request for a reasonable extension of time to pay the fee should 

such an extension be necessary. 

3. Failure to timely pay the filing fee, or timely request an extension of time to do so, 

may result in a recommendation of dismissal of the action pursuant to Federal Rule of 

Civil Procedure 41(b).

IT IS SO ORDERED. 

Dated: August 24, 2015

 

Case 2:15-cv-01358-JAM-KJN Document 3 Filed 08/24/15 Page 2 of 2