Hill v. 140 Claremont Owners Ltd.
- Laura Swain
- 1:25-cv-02025
- U.S. District Court · Southern District of New York
- 4
In Hill v. 140 Claremont Owners, Judge Swain ordered payment or an IFP application, and warned Warren his claims could be dismissed.
Vivian A. Hill and Harold H. Warren must address the filing-fee requirement; Warren specifically must submit an application or the court will dismiss his claims. The order does not decide the defendants’ liability.
What happened
Vivian A. Hill and Harold H. Warren brought this case without lawyers against 140 Claremont Owners Ltd. and others. The court said they had to pay $405 in filing and administrative fees or each submit an application to proceed without paying those fees upfront. Hill submitted an application, but Warren did not.
The court gave the plaintiffs 30 days to pay the $405 or for Warren to complete, sign, and submit the required application. The court also said that no summons would issue at that time. If Warren complied, his claims would be processed under the Clerk’s Office procedures; if he did not comply within the allowed time, the court would dismiss his claims.
Judge Laura Taylor Swain also certified that an appeal from this order would not be taken in good faith and denied permission to proceed without paying appeal fees. The order addressed filing requirements only and did not decide the underlying claims.
The detailed version
- Hill v. 140 Claremont Owners Ltd. · No. 1:25-cv-02025
- Laura Swain
- Mar. 13, 2025
Background
Vivian A. Hill and Harold H. Warren brought the action without lawyers. Under the cited federal statutes, a civil action requires payment of a $350 filing fee and a $55 administrative fee, for a total of $405, unless the court authorizes the plaintiffs to proceed without prepaying fees. Each plaintiff must submit a completed and signed application for that status.
The plaintiffs had not paid the fees. Hill had submitted an application to proceed without prepaying fees, but Warren had not submitted one.
Order
The court ordered that, within 30 days of the order, the plaintiffs must either pay the total $405 or Warren must complete, sign, and submit the attached application. If Warren submits it, the application must identify docket number 1:25-CV-2025 (LTS). The court stated that, if it grants the plaintiffs’ applications, they will be permitted to proceed without prepaying fees.
No summons would issue at that time. If Warren complied with the order, his claims would be processed under the Clerk’s Office procedures. If he failed to comply within the allowed time, the court would dismiss his claims.
Appeal-related ruling
The court certified under 28 U.S.C. § 1915(a)(3) that an appeal from the order would not be taken in good faith and denied permission to proceed without prepaying fees for an appeal.
Effect of the order
This was a filing-fee and fee-waiver order. It did not decide the merits of the plaintiffs’ claims against the defendants.
Read the full 4-page opinion on CourtListener, the free public archive maintained by the Free Law Project.