Ketzbeau v. Ivy ( 2024 )

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT EASTERN DISTRICT OF MICHIGAN SOUTHERN DIVISION Jesse Ketzbeau, Plaintiff, Case No. 24-11006 v. Judith E. Levy United States District Judge Curtis Ivy, Jr., et. al, Mag. Judge Patricia T. Morris Defendants. ________________________________/ ORDER REQUIRING ADDITIONAL INFORMATION FOR APPLICATION TO PROCEED WITHOUT PREPAYING FEES [2] On April 17, 2024, Plaintiff Jesse Ketzbeau, a pretrial detainee confined in Clare County Jail, filed a complaint. (ECF No. 1.) Plaintiff did not pay the necessary filing and administrative fees for commencing a civil action but accompanied his lawsuit with an application to proceed in forma pauperis, which is a request to proceed without prepaying fees or costs. (ECF No. 2.) A plaintiff instituting a civil action in district court is required to pay a $350 filing fee plus a fifty-dollar administrative fee before their case can proceed. 28 U.S.C. § 1914(a). Federal courts “may authorize the commencement . . . of any suit, action or proceeding . . . without prepayment of fees . . . by a person who submits an affidavit that includes a statement . . . that the person is unable to pay such fees.” 28 U.S.C. § 1915(a)(1). Inadequate completion of an application to proceed in forma pauperis is grounds for denial of that application in the Eastern District of Michigan. See Shaw v. Oakland Cnty. Friend of the Ct., No. 20-12492, 2020 WL 7024912, at *3 (E.D. Mich. Nov. 30, 2020). Here, Plaintiff’s application is incomplete. Plaintiff partially completed Question 1 of the application, which states that he is “incarcerated” and “being held at: Clare County Jail Harrison MI 40625 W. Main 255.” (ECF No. 2, PageID.28.) Question 1 also requests that Plaintiff “attach to this document a statement certified by the appropriate institutional officer showing all receipts, expenditures, and balances during the last six months for any institutional account in [his] name.” (Id.) Plaintiff did not attach any statements to his application. Additionally, Plaintiff did not fill out any other portion of the application to proceed without prepaying fees or costs. (Id. at PageID.28–29 (Questions two through eight).) Without this information, the Court cannot determine if Plaintiff is unable to pay the applicable fees. Accordingly, Plaintiff must submit a completed Application to Proceed in District Court Without Prepaying Fees or Costs by Monday, June 17, 2024. If Plaintiff fails to comply with this order, the case may be dismissed for failure to prosecute pursuant to Eastern District of Michigan Local Rule 41.2. IT IS SO ORDERED. Dated: June 3, 2024 s/Judith E. Levy Ann Arbor, Michigan JUDITH E. LEVY United States District Judge CERTIFICATE OF SERVICE The undersigned certifies that the foregoing document was served upon counsel of record and any unrepresented parties via the Court’s ECF System to their respective email or first-class U.S. mail addresses disclosed on the Notice of Electronic Filing on June 3, 2024. s/William Barkholz WILLIAM BARKHOLZ Case Manager