Burkett v. Westchester Medical Center
- Laura Swain
- 1:24-cv-09789
- U.S. District Court · Southern District of New York
- 1
In Burkett v. Westchester Medical Center, Judge Swain dismissed the complaint without prejudice after Burkett neither paid filing fees nor submitted required forms.
Ernest Burkett, Jr.’s complaint was dismissed without prejudice for failing to submit the required fee-waiver materials or pay the filing fees; fee-free status was also denied for any appeal.
What happened
In Burkett v. Westchester Medical Center, the court ordered Ernest Burkett, Jr. to submit an application to proceed without paying filing fees or pay the $405 filing fee within 30 days.
Burkett did neither. The court therefore dismissed the complaint without prejudice, meaning the dismissal did not bar refiling. The opinion does not address the complaint’s underlying claims.
Judge Laura Taylor Swain also ruled that any appeal would not be taken in good faith and denied fee-free status for an appeal. The clerk was directed to enter judgment.
The detailed version
- Burkett v. Westchester Medical Center · No. 1:24-cv-09789
- Laura Swain
- Feb. 5, 2025
Background
The court had previously ordered Ernest Burkett, Jr., within 30 days, either to submit a completed application to proceed without paying filing fees and a required prisoner authorization form or to pay the $405 in fees required to file a civil action. The earlier order warned that failure to comply would result in dismissal.
Ruling
Burkett did not submit the application or prisoner authorization and did not pay the filing fees. The court therefore dismissed the complaint without prejudice under 28 U.S.C. §§ 1914 and 1915. The opinion does not decide the merits of Burkett’s claims.
The court certified under 28 U.S.C. § 1915(a)(3) that any appeal would not be taken in good faith and denied fee-free status for purposes of an appeal. The court also directed the clerk to enter judgment. The order was signed by Chief United States District Judge Laura Taylor Swain.
Read the full 1-page opinion on CourtListener, the free public archive maintained by the Free Law Project.