The opinion
[Docket Nos. 1, 3]
IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
FOR THE DISTRICT OF NEW JERSEY
CAMDEN VICINAGE
EUGENE T. SIMPSON II, :
: CIV. NO. 25-13349 (RMB-EAP)
Plaintiff :
:
v. : MEMORANDUM ORDER
:
ADRIENNE ADELE SIMPSON, :
:
Defendant :
____________________________________
THIS MATTER comes before the Court upon the filing of an application to proceed
in forma pauperis (“IFP”), [Docket No. 1-1], and a Motion to Appoint Pro Bono Counsel,
[Docket No. 3], by pro se Plaintiff Eugene T. Simpson II (“Plaintiff”). For the reasons set forth
below, the Court DISMISSES Plaintiff’s Complaint without prejudice due to a lack of subject
matter jurisdiction.
Plaintiff, a convicted and sentenced state prisoner confined in South Woods State
Prison in Bridgeton, New Jersey, filed this pro se probate matter without paying the $350 filing
fee and $55 administrative fee for a civil action and without submitting a properly completed
application to proceed IFP under 28 U.S.C. § 1915(a).
28 U.S.C. § 1915(a)(2) provides, in relevant part (emphasis added):
A prisoner seeking to bring a civil action . . . shall submit a
certified copy of the trust fund account statement (or
institutional equivalent) for the prisoner for the 6-month period
immediately preceding the filing of the complaint or notice of
appeal, obtained from the appropriate official of each prison at
which the prisoner is or was confined.
Plaintiff’s trust account statement is not certified by the appropriate prison official and
is therefore incomplete. [Docket No. 1-2.]
Moreover, the Court “has the authority to dismiss a case ‘at any time,’ 28 U.S.C. §
1915(e)(2), regardless of the status of a filing fee; that is, a court has the discretion to consider
the merits of a case and evaluate an IFP application in either order or even simultaneously.”
Brown v. Sage, 941 F.3d 655, 660 (3d Cir. 2019). Plaintiff alleges that Defendant Adrienne
Adele Simpson, Plaintiff’s sister and the executor of their father’s estate, “[h]as avoided all
attempts to [close out their] father’s estate” and distribute estate assets. [Docket No. 1
(“Compl.”) at 3-4.] Federal courts are precluded “from endeavoring to dispose of property
that is in the custody of a state probate court.” Marshall v. Marshall, 547 U.S. 293, 312 (2006);
see also Three Keys Ltd. v. SR Util. Holding Co., 540 F.3d 220, 226-27 (3d Cir. 2008). As
adjudicating Plaintiff’s claims would require this Court to interfere with the administration of
an estate and the disposition of estate property, the Court concludes it lacks subject matter
jurisdiction. Id. Plaintiff may pursue any such claims in New Jersey Superior Court in
accordance with New Jersey law and any applicable statute of limitations. Therefore, for the
foregoing reasons,
IT IS on this 4th day of February, 2026,
1. ORDERED that Plaintiff’s Complaint, [Docket No. 1], is DISMISSED
WITHOUT PREJUDICE; and it is further
2. ORDERED that Plaintiff’s application to proceed in forma pauperis, [Docket
No. 1-1], is DENIED WITHOUT PREJUDICE; and it is further
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3. ORDERED that Plaintiff’s Motion to Appoint Pro Bono Counsel, [Docket No.
3], is DENIED WITHOUT PREJUDICE; and it is further
4. ORDERED that the Clerk of the Court shall CLOSE this action; and it is
further
5. ORDERED that if Plaintiff believes he can cure the jurisdictional defects
identified in this Order, he shall so notify the Court, in writing addressed to the Clerk of the
Court, Mitchell H. Cohen Building & U.S. Courthouse, 4th & Cooper Streets, Camden, NJ
08101, within 30 days of the date of entry of this Order; Plaintiff’s request to reopen this matter
shall include an amended Complaint establishing proper subject matter jurisdiction and either
(1) a properly completed IFP application including a certified copy of his inmate trust
account; or (2) the $405 filing fee. Upon timely receipt of the above, this Court will direct
the Clerk of the Court to reopen this matter; and it is finally
6. ORDERED that the Clerk of the Court shall serve a copy of this Order upon
Plaintiff by regular U.S. mail.
s/Renée Marie Bumb
RENÉE MARIE BUMB
Chief United States District Judge
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