Hammer v. Town of Bedford New York
- Cathy Seibel
- 7:25-cv-02618
- U.S. District Court · Southern District of New York
- 2
In Hammer v. Town of Bedford New York, Judge Swain ordered payment or an IFP application within 30 days before the case could proceed.
Melanie Hammer must either pay the $405 fees or submit a completed and signed application to proceed without prepayment within 30 days, or request an extension. Until then, the case will not proceed, and failure to comply will result in dismissal without prejudice to refiling. The defendants are not required to answer at this stage.
What happened
In Hammer v. Town of Bedford New York, the court directed Melanie Hammer to either pay $405 in filing and administrative fees or submit a signed application to proceed without paying those fees upfront.
The court said no further action would be taken, and no summons would issue or answer would be required, until it received payment or a completed application. If Hammer did not comply or request more time within 30 days, the action would be dismissed without prejudice to refiling.
Judge Laura Taylor Swain also stated that any appeal would not be taken in good faith and denied permission to proceed without paying appeal fees.
The detailed version
- Hammer v. Town of Bedford New York · No. 7:25-cv-02618
- Cathy Seibel
- Apr. 1, 2025
Background
Melanie Hammer submitted this civil action to the court by email. The court assigned it docket number 25-CV-2618. The opinion does not describe the underlying claims against the Town of Bedford New York or the other defendants.
Order
Under federal law, a person starting a civil action must pay the required fees or request permission to proceed without prepaying them. The court ordered Hammer, within 30 days of the order, to do one of two things: pay $405, consisting of a $350 filing fee and a $55 administrative fee, or complete, sign, and submit the attached application to proceed without prepayment of fees.
The court stated that no further action would be taken, no summons would issue, and no answer would be required until the fees were paid or a completed and signed application was received. If Hammer complied, the Clerk’s Office would process the case under its procedures. The court also said that if she failed to comply or request an extension within the allowed period, the action would be dismissed without prejudice to refiling.
Appeal-Fee Ruling
Judge Laura Taylor Swain certified under 28 U.S.C. § 1915(a)(3) that an appeal from the order would not be taken in good faith. The court therefore denied permission to proceed without prepaying fees for an appeal.
Classification
This is a procedural order because it addresses payment of filing fees or an application to proceed without prepayment, not the underlying legal claims.
Read the full 2-page opinion on CourtListener, the free public archive maintained by the Free Law Project.