5.2 The Litigant’s Affidavit

IFP filings must include an affidavit from the litigant attesting to a personal inability “to pay the costs of court in advance, or as they accrue, or to furnish security therefor, because of the applicant’s poverty and lack of means . . . .”1  The form affidavit asks for basic biographical details (e.g., residence, telephone number, date of birth, household composition, and employment) and more monetary-specific questions (e.g., gross monthly income and expenses, government support, possessions of value, and indebtedness through credit cards or loans).2  The form affidavit also allows applicants to refrain from supplying two pieces of information: a social security number3  and, if the litigant is “seeking protection from abuse”, an address and telephone number.4

The affidavit is to be “accompanied by any supporting documentation.”5  Because La. C.C.P. art. 5183(A) states that the applicant “shall annex” the affidavit and supporting documentation, it appears that such documentation is required.6  In fact, the courts of appeal often deny writs or return writ applications lacking IFP-supportive documentation.7

It is true that the extent to which documentation beyond the affidavit is truly required is somewhat uncertain. For instance, the Uniform Rules only require that an applicant file a state-standardized affidavit.8  The four-page affidavit walks the applicant through various income-expense considerations, but does not specifically state that outside, supporting documents are required.9  This lack of an express requirement in the form approved by the Louisiana Supreme Court is consistent with Louisiana’s treatment of notarial acts in which the affiant’s oath has “legal efficacy for purposes of the laws on perjury.”10  The form affidavit expresses the serious import of the act in its final question: “Has your attorney or the Notary Public told you that you may go to jail if you intentionally give a false answer to any of the above questions?”11  Nevertheless, required or not, marshalling evidence to justify affidavit statements is generally wise, particularly in courts that tend to scrutinize IFP applications even if they are not traversed.

• 1La. C.C.P. art. 5183(A)(1).
• 2La. Dist. Ct. Rules, Appendix 8.0 (In Forma Pauperis Affidavit), (hereinafter, IFP Form Affidavit).
• 3Id. A comment clarifies that “[f]ederal laws, including the Social Security Act and the Privacy Act of 1974, provide that Social Security numbers are confidential and that governmental benefits may not be denied because of a person's refusal to provide that information, unless its provision is required by federal statute.” La. Dist. Ct. Rules, Rule 8.2 cmt. b.
• 4IFP Form Affidavit, p. 1, supra.
• 5Id.
• 6See Thibodeaux v. Rental Ins. Servs., Inc., 2013-1947 (La. App. 1 Cir. 4/24/15), 178 So. 3d 567 (“[O]ne seeking to take advantage of this privilege must submit specific documentation.” (emphasis added)); La. Rules New Orleans 2nd City Ct., Rule 6 (“This motion and affidavit shall recite that said party is a pauper and set forth in detail his or her financial condition, amount of income, sources of income, number of dependents, description and worth of any property owned in addition to any additional information that the Court shall deem necessary.” (emphasis added)).
• 7See, e.g., Wells v. E. Baton Rouge Par. Sch. Sys., 2017-1567, p. 1 (La. App. 1 Cir. 11/14/17), 2017 WL 5478618 (“We are returning your writ application with the requirement that you include the documentation specifically identified in La. Code Civ. P. art. 5183 demonstrating your inability to pay with any writ application submitted in your behalf.”); Brumfield v. La, Dep’t of Pub. Safety & Corr., 2018-0550, p. 1 (La. App. 1 Cir. 5/29/18), 2018 WL 2418400 (denying writ by finding inmate failed “to provide proof of his inability to pay the filing fee and submit a fully executed ‘In Forma Pauperis Affidavit’”); Smith v. Doody, 98-198, p. 5 (La. App. 5 Cir. 10/14/98), 721 So. 2d 60 (denying, in an appeal posture, litigant’s IFP privilege in part because of “no information on Mr. Wilbert Smith’s financial status”).
• 8La. Dist. Ct. Rules, Rule 8.0, (“A party, other than an inmate, who wishes to proceed in forma pauperis shall complete and file the affidavit in Appendix 8.0.”).
• 9IFP Form Affidavit, supra.
• 10La. R.S. 35:2(B).
• 11IFP Form Affidavit, p. 3, supra.