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Jennings v. Vilasca
United States District Court, S.D. Indiana, Indianapolis Division
June 11, 2014
LAURA JENNINGS, Plaintiff,
v.
TOM VILASCA, SECRETARY U.S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE, Defendants.
ENTRY DISCUSSING REQUEST TO PROCEED ON APPEAL IN FORMA PAUPERIS
TANYA WALTON PRATT, District Judge.
The plaintiff seeks leave to proceed on appeal without prepayment of the appellate fees of $505.00. An appeal may not be taken in forma pauperis if the trial court certifies that the appeal is not taken in good faith. 28 U.S.C. § 1915; see Coppedge v. United States, 369 U.S. 438 (1962). "Good faith" within the meaning of § 1915 must be judged by an objective, not a subjective, standard. See id.
There is no objectively reasonable argument the plaintiff could present to argue that the ruling dismissing the plaintiff's complaint was erroneous. In pursuing an appeal, therefore, the plaintiff "is acting in bad faith... [because] to sue in bad faith means merely to sue on the basis of a frivolous claim, which is to say a claim that no reasonable person could suppose to have any merit." Lee v. Clinton, 209 F.3d 1025, 1026 (7th Cir. 2000). Accordingly, this appeal is ...