Vitalis v. IC System, Inc.
- Laura Swain
- 1:25-cv-01104
- U.S. District Court · Southern District of New York
- 2
In Vitalis v. IC System, Inc., Judge Swain ordered payment or an amended fee-waiver application and warned that noncompliance would lead to dismissal.
Justina Vitalis and the pending action against IC System, Inc.
What happened
Justina Vitalis sued IC System, Inc. while representing herself. She submitted an application to proceed without paying court fees in advance, but her answers said she had no income, assets, or expenses and did not explain how she paid for expenses.
The court said it could not determine whether Vitalis could pay the required $405 in fees. The order gave her 30 days to either pay the fees or submit an amended application with facts showing that she could not pay. No summons would issue at that time.
Judge Laura Taylor Swain ordered that the case would be processed under the Clerk’s Office procedures if Vitalis complied, but that the action would be dismissed if she did not comply within the allowed time. The court also denied fee-free status for any appeal from the order.
The detailed version
- Vitalis v. IC System, Inc. · No. 1:25-cv-01104
- Laura Swain
- Feb. 14, 2025
Background
Justina Vitalis brought the action against IC System, Inc. without a lawyer. The opinion does not describe the underlying claims.
To proceed with a civil case in the court, a plaintiff must either pay $405 in fees— a $350 filing fee and a $55 administrative fee—or submit a signed application to proceed without prepaying fees. This application is commonly called an application to proceed in forma pauperis, or IFP.
Vitalis submitted an IFP application. In response to questions about her financial circumstances, she stated that she had no income, assets, or expenses. The court said those answers did not explain how she was paying for her expenses and therefore did not provide a full accounting of her financial circumstances.
Order
The court ordered Vitalis, within 30 days of the order, to do one of two things: pay the $405 in fees or submit an amended IFP application. The amended application had to identify docket number 25-CV-1104 (LTS) and provide facts establishing that she could not pay the filing fees. If the court granted the amended application, Vitalis would be allowed to proceed without prepaying the fees.
No summons would issue at that time. If Vitalis complied, the case would be processed under the Clerk’s Office procedures. If she failed to comply within the permitted time, the action would be dismissed.
Other Ruling
The court certified under federal law that any appeal from the order would not be taken in good faith and denied fee-free status for purposes of an appeal. Judge Laura Taylor Swain signed the order on February 14, 2025.
Read the full 2-page opinion on CourtListener, the free public archive maintained by the Free Law Project.