Source: https://www.povertylaw.org/clearinghouse/fpmd/chapter4/section3
Timestamp: 2019-04-25 04:20:38+00:00

Document:
To file a complaint in federal district court, you must either pay the filing fee of $400 or file a motion for leave to proceed in forma pauperis pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 1915. The district court may have a form “cover sheet” to be filled in by counsel when the complaint is filed. The cover sheet seeks information about the nature of the case and the existence of any related case or cases. Local rules typically define a “related” case. Counsel, not support staff, should complete the cover sheet. Check your local rules and Clerk’s Office regarding policies and procedures for the electronic filing and service of complaints and subsequent filings.
The complaint may be supplemented by documentary material. If the case involves regulations, handbooks, or other administrative materials that are not readily available to the judge, reproduce that material in an addendum to the complaint. It is not typical to attach exhibits to a complaint, but consider doing so if there is an unusually significant document that you want the court and the defendant to know of at the outset of the case.
1. Fed. R. Civ. P. 4(b).
2. Id. 4(c)(1), 4(m). See Zapata v. City of New York, 502 F.3d 192 (2d Cir. 2007), cert. denied, 552 U.S. 1243 (2008). See Lepone-Dempsey v. Carroll County Commissioners, 476 F.3d 1277, 1281-82 (11th Cir. 2007) for a discussion of the circumstances in which good cause would permit an extension of the 120-day service period and the discretion of the court to extend the period in the absence of good cause. See also Coleman v. Cranberry Baye Rental Agency, 202 F.R.D. 106, 109 (N.D.N.Y. 2001).
3. Fed. R. Civ. P. 4(c)(2).
5. The forms noted in this paragraph will instead be found after Rule 4.
6. Fed. R. Civ. P. 4(d)(2).
8. If the plaintiff chooses not seek a waiver of service, the costs of service may nevertheless taxed under 28 U.S.C. § 1920 if the plaintiff prevails. Powell v. Carey International, Incorporated, 548 F. Supp. 2d 1351, 1357-58 (S.D. Fla. 2008).
9. Lepone-Dempsey, 476 F.3d at 1281 (11th Cir. 2007).
10. See 28 U.S.C. § 1915; Neitzke v. Williams, 490 U.S. 319, 324 (1989) (IFP statute intended to give indigent litigants access to federal court).
11. See Lewis v. Center Market, Civ. Nos. 09-306, 09-700, 09-701, 09-702 (D.N.M. Oct. 29, 2009) ("[T]he federal standards for IFP are not a bright-line percentage rule, but rather, rely on the discretion of the court.").
12. Adkins v. E.I. DuPont de Nemours & Co., 335 U.S. 331, 338-40 (1948).
13. United States v. Valdes, 300 F. Supp. 2d 82, 84 (D.D.C. 2004) (denying IFP petition due to resources and income), rev'd on other grounds, 475 F.3d 1319 (D.C. Cir. 2007).
14. Dillard v. Liberty Loan Corp., 626 F.2d 363, 364 (4th Cir. 1980).
15. See Martinez v. Kristi Kleaners, Incorporated, 364 F.3d 1305, 1308 (11th Cir. 2004).
16. 28 U.S.C. § 1915(a)(1). While § 1915(a)(1) refers to a "statement of all assets such prisoner possesses," the statement applies to non-prisoners as well. See Floyd v. United States Postal Service, 105 F.3d 274, 275 (6th Cir. 1997); Lewis, Civ. Nos. 09-306, 09-700, 09-701, 09-702.
17. Rowland v. California Men’s Colony, 506 U.S. 194, 197 (1993).
18. Martinez, 364 F.3d at 1307.
19. Garrett v. Miller, 2003 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 5248 at *6, 2003 WL 1790954 (N.D. Ill. Apr. 1, 2003) (plaintiff was granted significant extension of time for service of process in order to accommodate marshal); Fed. R. Civ. P.4(c)(2).
20. 28 U.S.C. § 1915(e)(2).
21. Olson v. Coleman, 997 F.2d 726, 728 (10th Cir. 1993); 28 U.S.C. § 1915(f).
22. See Lister v. Department of Treasury, 408 F.3d 1309, 1310-11 (10th Cir. 2005) ("Although the district court's ruling is not a final order, 'denial by a District Judge of a motion to proceed in forma pauperis is an appealable order' under the Cohen doctrine."); see also Roberts v. United States District Court, 339 U.S. 844, 844 (1950).

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