Opinion
No. 2:14-cv-1431 KJM DAD
06-23-2014
DAVID SWANSON, et al., Plaintiffs, v. YUBA CITY UNIFIED SCHOOL DISTRICT, et al., Defendants.
ORDER
Plaintiffs David Swanson, through his guardian ad litem Heather Swanson-Houston, and Heather Swanson-Houston suing on her own behalf, have filed this action alleging generally that defendants have refused to provide a free and appropriate education for Swanson and to accommodate his disability. ECF No. 1. Neither plaintiff has paid the filing fee, but Swanson has submitted a request to proceed in forma pauperis. ECF No. 2. Swanson-Houston has not sought to proceed in forma pauperis.
"Where there are multiple plaintiffs in a single action, the plaintiffs may not proceed in forma pauperis unless all of them demonstrate inability to pay the filing fee." Darden v. Indymac Bancorp, Inc., No. CIV S-09-2970 JAM DAD PS, 2009 WL 5206637, at *1 (E.D. Cal. Dec. 23, 2009); see also Seligman v. Hart, No. 12cv3067-LAB (BGS), 2013 WL 371991 at *1 (S.D. Cal. Jan. 15, 2013). As there has been no showing that Swanson Houston is unable to pay the filing fee or that the two plaintiffs together are unable to pay the fee, the motion to proceed in forma pauperis is denied. See Edmonds v. Carteret Police Dept., Civil Action No. 102304 (SDW), 2010 WL 4929279, at *2 (D.N.J. Nov. 230, 2010) (refusing to allow the action to proceed without payment of the filing fee when only one plaintiff had submitted financial information).
IT IS THEREFORE ORDERED that:
1. Swanson's application to proceed in forma pauperis, ECF No. 2, is denied without prejudice;
2. Plaintiffs must file renewed requests to proceed in forma pauperis or pay the complete filing fee within twenty-one days of the date of this order; if they do not comply, the action will be dismissed for failure to prosecute.
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UNITED STATES DISTRICT JUDGE