Opinion
CASE NO. C14-5458 RBL
06-18-2014
PAUL GEROLD SPARKS, Plaintiff, v. CLEARWIRE/VERIZON, et al., Defendants.
HONORABLE RONALD B. LEIGHTON
ORDER DENYING MOTION FOR
LEAVE TO PROCEED IFP
THIS MATTER is before the Court on pro se Plaintiff Sparks' Application for leave to proceed in forma pauperis. [Dkt. #1]
A district court may permit indigent litigants to proceed in forma pauperis upon completion of a proper affidavit of indigency. See 28 U.S.C. § 1915(a). The court has broad discretion in resolving the application, but "the privilege of proceeding in forma pauperis in civil actions for damages should be sparingly granted." Weller v. Dickson, 314 F.2d 598, 600 (9th Cir. 1963), cert. denied 375 U.S. 845 (1963). Moreover, a court should "deny leave to proceed in forma pauperis at the outset if it appears from the face of the proposed complaint that the action is frivolous or without merit." Tripati v. First Nat'l Bank & Trust, 821 F.2d 1368, 1369 (9th Cir. 1987) (citations omitted); see also 28 U.S.C. § 1915(e)(2)(B)(i). An in forma pauperis complaint is frivolous if "it ha[s] no arguable substance in law or fact." Id. (citing Rizzo v. Dawson, 778 F.2d 527, 529 (9th Cir. 1985); Franklin v. Murphy, 745 F.2d 1221, 1228 (9th Cir. 1984).
Sparks' complaint does not meet this standard. It is almost unintelligible, and it is not at all clear who he is suing, for what. He names only Clearwire/Verizon and Godaddy.com as defendants, but then asks the court to put a number of his relatives in jail for stealing his money. He also appears to complain about the NSA. There is no indication that this Court has jurisdiction over the claims he asserts: "this occurred in Washington" is not a sufficient invocation of this court's subject matter jurisdiction.
For these reasons, the Plaintiff's application to proceed in forma pauperis is DENIED. Plaintiff should pay the filing fee, or file an amended complaint, within 15 days of the date of this Order, or the case will be dismissed. Any amended complaint should state in clear terms who is being sued for doing what, when, and why the conduct is the basis for a legal action in this Court.
IT IS SO ORDERED.
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RONALD B. LEIGHTON
UNITED STATES DISTRICT JUDGE