Ronald Emrit v. Bank of America, No. 13-2253 (4th Cir. 2014)
Annotate this Case
Download PDF
UNPUBLISHED UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS FOR THE FOURTH CIRCUIT No. 13-2253 RONALD SATISH EMRIT, Plaintiff Appellant, v. BANK OF AMERICA, INC., Defendant - Appellee. Appeal from the United States District Court for the Western District of North Carolina, at Charlotte. Robert J. Conrad, Jr., District Judge. (3:13-cv-00547-RJC-DSC) Submitted: February 24, 2014 Decided: April 17, 2014 Before DUNCAN, DIAZ, and THACKER, Circuit Judges. Affirmed by unpublished per curiam opinion. Ronald Satish Emrit, Appellant Pro Se. Renner Jo St. John, ROGERS, TOWNSEND & THOMAS, PC, Charlotte, North Carolina, for Appellee. Unpublished opinions are not binding precedent in this circuit. PER CURIAM: Ronald Satish Emrit appeals the district court order denying him leave to proceed in forma pauperis ( IFP ) and dismissing his complaint without prejudice to his ability to refile upon payment of the fee. For the reasons that follow, we affirm. Under the Prison Litigation Reform Act ( PLRA ), 28 U.S.C. § 1915(a)(1) (2012), a non-prisoner litigant may qualify for IFP status after submitting an affidavit listing all assets and pay. anticipated expenses and substantiating inability to When a non-prisoner litigant is granted IFP status, he is excused from prepayment of filing fees. 315 his F.3d 396, 398 (4th Cir. 2003). to grant or deny IFP discretion DeBlasio v. Gilmore, A status district and must court has base its decision on the poverty and good faith of the applicant and the meritorious character of the cause. Dillard v. Liberty Loan Corp., 626 F.2d 363, 364 (4th Cir. 1980) (quoting Kinney v. Plymouth Rock Squab Co., 236 U.S. 43, 46 (1915)). The PLRA provides that, notwithstanding any portion of the filing fee paid by the plaintiff, the district court shall dismiss a case brought untrue. IFP if it determines the allegation of poverty is 28 U.S.C. § 1915(e)(2)(A) (2012). An order denying IFP status is reviewed for abuse of discretion. Pointer v. Wilkinson, 502 F.3d 369, 372 (6th Cir. 2 2007). We discern no such abuse of discretion by the district court. The court conducted a detailed review of Emrit s finances and filing history, observing that Emrit had enjoyed a substantially higher income for the previous twelve months; that he had asserted in another case, just two months prior, that he had $10,000 in a checking account; that another district court had recently found Emrit able to pay the filing fee; and that Emrit s living findings, the expenses court were was exorbitant. amply justified Based in Emrit s allegation of poverty was untrue. turn, required dismissal § 1915(e)(2)(A); F.3d 305, 306 Thomas (7th of v. Cir. Emrit s Gen. 2002) these concluding that That conclusion, in action. Motors on See Acceptance ( Because the 28 U.S.C. Corp., allegation 288 of poverty was false, the suit had to be dismissed; the judge had no choice. ); see also Michau v. Charleston Cnty., S.C., 434 F.3d 725, 728 (4th Cir. 2006) (holding that when requirements of § 1915(e)(2) are not satisfied, district court must dismiss action). We have reviewed Emrit s remaining conclude that they entitle him to no relief. evidence of judicial bias. 501, 530 judicial (4th bias Cir. 2008) claim, and assertions and Nor do we find any See United States v. Lentz, 524 F.3d (describing recognizing 3 required that showing judicial for rulings alone almost never constitute a valid basis for a bias or partiality motion (internal quotation marks omitted)). Accordingly, we deny leave to proceed IFP on appeal and affirm the district court s judgment. We dispense with oral argument because the facts and legal contentions are adequately presented in the materials before this court and argument would not aid the decisional process. AFFIRMED 4
Some case metadata and case summaries were written with the help of AI, which can produce inaccuracies. You should read the full case before relying on it for legal research purposes.
This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.
