Bah v. United States
- John Koeltl
- 1:24-cv-10076
- U.S. District Court · Southern District of New York
- 2
In Bah v. United States, Judge Swain ordered payment or an application to proceed without fees within 30 days before the case could continue.
Amadou Bah must either pay the required court fees or submit a completed and signed application to proceed without prepaying them; otherwise, the action will be dismissed without prejudice to refiling. The United States is not required to answer unless Bah complies.
What happened
In Bah v. United States, the court directed Amadou Bah to pay the required $405 in court fees or submit a signed application to proceed without paying those fees at the start of the case.
Bah had 30 days from January 17, 2025, to comply or request more time. Until payment or a completed application was received, the court would take no further action, issue no summons, and require no answer from the United States. If Bah did not comply, the action would be dismissed without prejudice to refiling.
Judge Laura Taylor Swain also ruled that an appeal from this order would not be taken in good faith and denied fee-waiver status for an appeal.
The detailed version
- Bah v. United States · No. 1:24-cv-10076
- John Koeltl
- Jan. 17, 2025
What the order required
Amadou Bah submitted this civil action to the court by email. The court ordered him, within 30 days of the order, to do one of two things:
- Pay $405 in court fees, consisting of a $350 filing fee and a $55 administrative fee; or - If unable to pay, complete, sign, and submit an application to proceed without prepaying the fees.
Effect on the case
The court directed that no further action would be taken, no summons would issue, and the United States would not be required to answer until the fees were paid or a completed and signed application was received. If the application were granted, Bah could proceed without prepaying the fees. If he failed to comply or request an extension within the allowed time, the action would be dismissed without prejudice to refiling.
Appeal ruling
The court certified under federal law that any appeal from this order would not be taken in good faith and denied permission to proceed without prepaying fees for an appeal.
Disposition and scope
This was a procedural order about payment of filing fees or an application to proceed without prepayment. The order did not address the underlying claims against the United States.
Read the full 2-page opinion on CourtListener, the free public archive maintained by the Free Law Project.