Johnson v. The Treasury
- Laura Swain
- 1:24-cv-10086
- U.S. District Court · Southern District of New York
- 2
In Johnson v. The Treasury, Judge Swain dismissed Robert W. Johnson’s case without prejudice because he failed to obtain required filing permission.
Robert W. Johnson and his pending action against The Treasury; the order also denied him fee-waiver status for an appeal.
What happened
Johnson v. The Treasury involved Robert W. Johnson’s attempt to bring a civil case while asking to file without paying court fees. The opinion does not describe the underlying dispute with The Treasury.
A prior court order had barred Johnson from filing future civil cases in that court without paying fees unless he first obtained permission. Johnson filed this case and requested that fee waiver, but he did not ask for the required permission.
The court dismissed the case without prejudice for violating the earlier order. Judge Laura Taylor Swain also denied fee-waiver status for any appeal, finding that an appeal would not be taken in good faith.
The detailed version
- Johnson v. The Treasury · No. 1:24-cv-10086
- Laura Swain
- Mar. 21, 2025
Background
Robert W. Johnson filed this civil action without a lawyer and asked to proceed without paying the court’s filing fee. The court treated him as appearing without a lawyer after determining that the purported attorney who signed the complaint was not admitted to practice in the relevant courts.
In a prior related proceeding, No. 1:19-CV-7337 (S.D.N.Y.), the court had barred Johnson from filing future civil actions in the Southern District of New York without paying the filing fee unless he first obtained permission from the court. Johnson filed this new action and requested permission to proceed without paying the fee, but he did not first seek the required leave to file.
Ruling
The court dismissed the action without prejudice because Johnson failed to comply with the earlier filing restriction. The court directed the Clerk of Court to enter judgment based on that dismissal. The opinion does not address the merits of Johnson’s claims against The Treasury.
The court also certified under 28 U.S.C. § 1915(a)(3) that any appeal would not be taken in good faith and denied Johnson permission to proceed without paying the filing fee for an appeal.
Read the full 2-page opinion on CourtListener, the free public archive maintained by the Free Law Project.