Button v. The New York Times Company

Background

Dusty Button and Mitchell Taylor Button submitted this civil action to the Southern District of New York by email. The court assigned docket number 24-CV-5888. The opinion does not address the underlying claims against The New York Times Company or the other defendants.

Order

The court explained that a plaintiff starting a civil action must either pay the required fees or submit a signed application to proceed without prepaying them. It ordered each plaintiff, within 30 days of the order, to either pay the total $405 fee or complete, sign, and submit an application to proceed without prepayment of fees. The opinion states that the $405 consists of a $350 filing fee and a $55 administrative fee, subject to possible updates to the fee schedule.

No further action would be taken, no summons would issue, and no answer would be required until the payment or completed applications were received. If the court granted the applications, the plaintiffs would be allowed to proceed without prepaying the fees.

Disposition

Judge Laura Taylor Swain ordered that the action would be dismissed without prejudice to refiling if the plaintiffs failed to comply within the allowed time or sought an extension. The court also certified that an appeal from the order would not be taken in good faith and denied permission to proceed without prepaying fees for purposes of an appeal. This order was procedural and did not decide the merits of the plaintiffs’ claims.