Corley v. Cepada
- Laura Swain
- 1:25-cv-00770
- U.S. District Court · Southern District of New York
- 5
In Corley v. Cepada, Judge Swain ordered the pro se plaintiff to update his fee-waiver application or pay $405, or face dismissal.
Marquis Corley, who must either submit an amended application showing his current financial circumstances or pay $405 within 30 days to continue the action.
What happened
In Corley v. Cepada, Marquis Corley sued N. Cepada and asked to proceed without paying the court’s filing fees upfront. The order did not address the underlying claims.
When Corley filed the case, he was detained at the Sullivan County Jail and submitted a financial application based on being a prisoner. The court learned that he had been released, so the application no longer showed his current financial circumstances.
Judge Laura Taylor Swain directed Corley to submit an amended application or pay $405 within 30 days. The court said the action will be dismissed if he does not comply, and it denied fee-waiver status for an appeal from this order.
The detailed version
- Corley v. Cepada · No. 1:25-cv-00770
- Laura Swain
- Feb. 10, 2025
Background
Marquis Corley brought this action pro se, meaning without a lawyer, and asked to proceed without prepaying the filing fees. When he filed the action, he was detained at the Sullivan County Jail as a prisoner. The case was originally filed in the Northern District of New York and was later transferred to the Southern District of New York.
Corley’s initial application was based on his status as a prisoner. The court learned that he was no longer in custody. Because the Prison Litigation Reform Act’s prisoner payment system uses a prison account to calculate installment payments, the court concluded that Corley’s application did not show his current ability to pay.
Court’s Action
The court directed Corley to complete and submit the attached amended application to proceed without prepaying fees, or alternatively to pay the $405 in filing and administrative fees. The court stated that, if it grants the amended application, Corley may proceed without prepaying fees. If he does not submit the amended application within 30 days, the action will be dismissed.
The court also certified that an appeal from this order would not be taken in good faith and denied fee-waiver status for purposes of an appeal. The order did not decide the merits of Corley’s claims against N. Cepada.
Read the full 5-page opinion on CourtListener, the free public archive maintained by the Free Law Project.