Guiliani v. Abatement, Inc.

U.S. Court of Appeals for the First Circuit

Guiliani v. Abatement, Inc.

Opinion

USCA1 Opinion




February 20, 1992 [NOT FOR PUBLICATION]






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No. 91-2285

BENJAMIN J. GUILIANI,

Plaintiff, Appellant,

v.

ACCURATE ABATEMENT, INC.,

Defendant, Appellee.


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APPEAL FROM THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT

FOR THE DISTRICT OF MAINE

[Hon. Morton A. Brody, U.S. District Judge]
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Before

Torruella, Circuit Judge,
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Campbell, Senior Circuit Judge,
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and Cyr, Circuit Judge.
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Benjamin J. Guiliani on brief pro se.
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Per Curiam. Appellant appeals from the district
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court's denial of in forma pauperis status. See Roberts v.
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United States District Court, 339 U.S. 844 (1950) (allowing
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immediate appeal from the denial of in forma pauperis

status). We affirm.

Appellant's in forma pauperis application stated

that he had not been employed since October 1989, that he

received $435.19 in workman's compensation benefits each

week, that he provided 100 percent of the support for his

wife and three sons, and that his assets were limited to a

1975 automobile, a $35,000 home with mortgage,1 and $250 in

cash. In a subsequent filing, appellant explained that two

of his sons were in college and that their expenses, added to

normal household expenses, rendered appellant unable to pay

the filing fee without going into debt.

A litigant need not be destitute in order to be

indigent. Rather, if he can not pay costs and still provide

himself and his dependents with the necessities of life, he

is entitled to in forma pauperis status. Adkin v. E. I. Du
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pont de Nemours & Co., 335 U.S. 331, 339 (1948). We review a
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district court's determination whether to grant in forma

pauperis status for abuse of discretion. Collier v. Tatum,
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722 F.2d 653, 656 (11th Cir. 1983) (abuse of discretion



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1. In his appellate brief, appellant stated the mortgage is
$15,056.64.

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standard of review applied); United States v. Lyons, 898 F.2d
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210, 216 (1st Cir.) (district court's evaluation of a party's

ability to pay will not be lightly overturned), cert. denied,
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111 S.Ct. 295 (1990).

The district court did not abuse its discretion.

That appellant allegedly can not finance both his children's

college education and his litigation without borrowing money

for the filing fee does not entitle him to in forma pauperis

status. He failed adequately to show that paying the filing

fee would render him unable to provide his family with basic

necessities -- e.g., food, shelter, utilities, and medical
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care. See Jones v. Continental Corp., 789 F.2d 1225, 1233
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(6th Cir. 1986) (district court did not abuse its discretion

in concluding that plaintiff had sufficient assets to pay

taxed costs without being rendered destitute).

Affirmed.
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Reference

Status
Published