Opinion
24-CV-7633 (LTS)
10-09-2024
Alena Magdalena Karakova NASLEDIE DAVUDOVA EXPRESS TRUST d/b/a Settlor/Trust Protector, Plaintiff, v. JP MORGAN CHASE BANK, NATIONAL ASSOCIATION, Defendant.
ORDER DIRECTING PAYMENT OF FEE OR IFP APPLICATION
LAURA TAYLOR SWAIN, Chief United States District Judge:
Plaintiff brings this action pro se. To proceed with a civil action in this Court, a plaintiff must either pay $405.00 in fees - a $350.00 filing fee plus a $55.00 administrative fee - or, to request authorization to proceed in forma pauperis (IFP), that is, without prepayment of fees, submit a signed IFP application. See 28 U.S.C. §§ 1914, 1915. Only a natural person can proceed IFP - not an artificial entity, such as an estate.
See, e.g., Davis v. Yale New Haven Hosp., No. 3:16-CV-01578 (VLB), 2017 WL 6459499, at *2 (D. Conn. Dec. 11, 2017) (relying on In re Estate of Van Putten, 553 Fed.Appx. 328 (3d Cir. 2009) (affirming that an estate is not eligible to proceed IFP)); Rowland v. California Men's Colony, 506 U.S. 194, 196 (1993) (holding that only natural persons may proceed IFP under 28 U.S.C. § 1915).
Plaintiff submitted the complaint without the filing fees or an IFP application. Within thirty days of the date of this order, Plaintiff must either pay the $405.00 in fees or (if Plaintiff is a natural person) submit the attached IFP application. If Plaintiff submits the IFP application, it should be labeled with docket number 24-CV-7633 (LTS). No summons shall issue at this time. If Plaintiff fails to comply with this order within the time allowed, the action will be dismissed without prejudice.
The Court certifies under 28 U.S.C. § 1915(a)(3) that any appeal from this order would not be taken in good faith, and therefore IFP status is denied for the purpose of an appeal. Cf. Coppedge v. United States, 369 U.S. 438, 444-45 (1962) (holding that appellant demonstrates good faith when seeking review of a nonfrivolous issue).
SO ORDERED.