Johnson v. Dudley
- Laura Swain
- 1:25-cv-02433
- U.S. District Court · Southern District of New York
- 2
In Johnson v. Dudley, Judge Swain ordered Johnson to pay $405 or submit an application to proceed without prepaying fees within 30 days, warning of dismissal.
Robert E. Johnson, who must either pay the required fees or submit an IFP application for the action to proceed; Kathy Dudley is the named defendant.
What happened
Johnson v. Dudley is an action brought by Robert E. Johnson against Kathy Dudley. Johnson filed the complaint without paying the required fees or submitting an application to proceed without prepaying fees.
The court ordered Johnson, within 30 days, either to pay $405 in filing and administrative fees or submit a signed application to proceed without prepaying fees. The court said no summons would issue at that time and warned that the action would be dismissed if Johnson did not comply.
Judge Swain also denied permission to proceed without prepaying fees for any appeal from the order, stating that an appeal would not be taken in good faith. The order did not decide the underlying claims.
The detailed version
- Johnson v. Dudley · No. 1:25-cv-02433
- Laura Swain
- Mar. 25, 2025
Background
Robert E. Johnson brought this action against Kathy Dudley without a lawyer. The complaint was submitted without the required filing fees and without an application to proceed in forma pauperis (IFP), meaning without prepaying court fees.
The court stated that proceeding with a civil action required either payment of $405—consisting of a $350 filing fee and a $55 administrative fee—or submission of a signed IFP application. The opinion also notes that Johnson had previously brought an action against the same defendant, which was dismissed after he failed to respond to an order concerning copyright registration or preregistration.
Order
The court ordered Johnson to do one of two things within 30 days of the order: pay the $405 in fees or submit the attached IFP application labeled with docket number 25-CV-2433 (LTS). If the court grants the IFP application, Johnson may proceed without prepaying fees.
No summons will issue at this time. The court stated that, if Johnson complies, the case will be processed under the Clerk’s Office procedures. If he does not comply within the allowed time, the action will be dismissed.
Appeal
Judge Laura Taylor Swain certified under 28 U.S.C. § 1915(a)(3) that any appeal from the order would not be taken in good faith. The court therefore denied IFP status for purposes of an appeal. The order did not address the merits of Johnson’s underlying claims.
Read the full 2-page opinion on CourtListener, the free public archive maintained by the Free Law Project.