Pearson v. Ross, 4:24-cv-01204

Plaintiff Lamaar Pearson filed a civil action in federal court against defendants Tammy Ross and others.
Pearson, a prisoner, seeks to proceed in forma pauperis (IFP), i.e., without paying the standard filing fee due to claimed financial inability.
Under the Prison Litigation Reform Act (PLRA), prisoner-plaintiffs must submit a certified copy of their institutional account statement for the six months prior to filing suit.
Pearson did not submit the required certified account statement; thus, the court cannot yet decide his IFP application.
The court ordered Pearson to submit the required documentation within 30 days and warned that failure to do so could result in dismissal of his case without prejudice.
The Clerk of Court was directed to send additional copies of the memorandum and order to help Pearson obtain the necessary statement from jail staff.

Issue	Plaintiff's Argument	Defendant's Argument	Held
Whether Pearson can proceed IFP without an account statement	Has demonstrated inability to pay	N/A (no response required at IFP step)	Must submit certified account statement before IFP status considered

Crawford-El v. Britton, 523 U.S. 574 (U.S. 1998) (PLRA requires all prisoners to pay filing fees, even if proceeding IFP)
Ashley v. Dilworth, 147 F.3d 715 (8th Cir. 1998) (PLRA’s purpose is to ensure full filing fee payment by prisoners, even if over time)