Bruce v. New York City Department of Education
- Gregory Woods
- 1:25-cv-01986
- U.S. District Court · Southern District of New York
- 4
In Bruce v. New York City Department of Education, Judge Swain ordered Nichole Bruce to pay fees or apply to proceed without prepayment within 30 days.
Nichole Bruce must either pay $405 in fees or submit a signed application to proceed without prepaying fees within 30 days. The case may be dismissed if she does not comply, and no summons will issue at this time.
What happened
In Bruce v. New York City Department of Education, Nichole Bruce filed the action without paying the required fees or submitting an application to proceed without prepaying them.
The court ordered Bruce, within 30 days, either to pay $405 or submit a signed application showing that she cannot afford the fees. The court said no summons would issue yet and warned that the action will be dismissed if she does not comply.
Judge Laura Taylor Swain also ruled that an appeal from this order would not be taken in good faith and denied permission to appeal without prepaying fees.
The detailed version
- Bruce v. New York City Department of Education · No. 1:25-cv-01986
- Gregory Woods
- Mar. 13, 2025
Background
Nichole Bruce brought this action without a lawyer. She submitted the complaint without paying the required filing and administrative fees and without submitting an application to proceed without prepaying fees.
Order
The court explained that starting a civil action requires either payment of $405—consisting of a $350 filing fee and a $55 administrative fee—or a signed application requesting permission to proceed without prepayment of fees. The court ordered Bruce to do one of those things within 30 days of the order. If she submits the application, it must identify docket number 1:25-CV-1986 (LTS). The court stated that, if the application is granted, Bruce may proceed without prepaying the fees.
No summons will issue at this time. If Bruce complies, the case will be processed under the Clerk’s Office procedures. If she does not comply within the allowed period, the action will be dismissed. The court also certified that an appeal from this order would not be taken in good faith and denied permission to appeal without prepaying fees.
Result
The order addresses payment of fees or an application to proceed without prepayment; it does not rule on the underlying claims described in the complaint.
Read the full 4-page opinion on CourtListener, the free public archive maintained by the Free Law Project.