Anonymous v. Anonymous
- Tarnofsky
- 1:24-cv-03495
- U.S. District Court · Southern District of New York
- 2
Anonymous v. Anonymous: Judge Tarnofsky requested reimbursement of the $52 miscellaneous-action fee but denied a refund of the $405 civil filing fee.
The petitioner, who receives the requested $52 reimbursement but not a refund of the $405 civil filing fee, and the Southern District of New York office responsible for issuing the reimbursement.
What happened
In Anonymous v. Anonymous, the petitioner asked to withdraw the petition and requested a refund of $405. The petitioner had first paid $52 to start the matter as a miscellaneous proceeding, then paid the required $405 civil filing fee.
The court explained that federal law did not allow a judge to refund the $405 fee required to start the civil action. Because the earlier $52 fee was paid for the same matter, the court requested that the court’s finance office reimburse that amount so the petitioner would not pay twice.
Judge Robyn F. Tarnofsky requested that the Southern District of New York’s Office of Finance Services issue a $52 check to the petitioner. The order does not state a separate disposition of the request to withdraw the petition.
The detailed version
- Anonymous v. Anonymous · No. 1:24-cv-03495
- Tarnofsky
- June 20, 2024
Background
The petitioner submitted a request to withdraw the petition and asked for a refund of $405. The petitioner had initially paid a $52 fee to begin the matter as a miscellaneous action under docket number 24-MC-0174. Chief Judge Swain previously determined that the matter did not qualify as one of the limited types of cases that may proceed as a miscellaneous action. The petitioner therefore paid the $405 filing fee required for a civil action instead of a miscellaneous action, or could have applied to proceed without paying the fee.
Fee ruling
The court stated that federal statutes require filing fees to be paid into the Treasury and that the law does not permit a judge to refund a filing fee. The court therefore concluded that it was precluded by statute from ordering a refund of the $405 civil-action fee.
The court reached a different conclusion about the $52 fee. Because the miscellaneous proceeding was designated as a civil action and involved the same matter, the court stated that the petitioner should not have to pay double filing fees. The court respectfully requested that the Southern District of New York Office of Finance Services reimburse the petitioner $52. The check was to be made out to the name provided in the petitioner's sealed filings and sent to the address provided to the Clerk’s Office. The order does not separately state whether the request to withdraw the petition was granted or denied.
Read the full 2-page opinion on CourtListener, the free public archive maintained by the Free Law Project.