Lewis v. The City of New York
- Edgardo Ramos
- 1:25-cv-02655
- U.S. District Court · Southern District of New York
- 4
In Lewis v. City of New York, Judge Swain ordered payment or a fee-waiver application before the case could proceed.
Diana Lewis, whose case cannot proceed unless she pays the required fees or submits an IFP application.
What happened
In Lewis v. The City of New York, the court directed Diana Lewis to either pay the required $405 in fees or submit a signed application to proceed without prepaying them.
The court gave Lewis 30 days from April 4, 2025, to comply. Until payment or a completed application is received, the case will not proceed, and no summons or answer will be required. If Lewis does not comply or request more time, the action will be dismissed without prejudice to refiling.
Judge Laura Taylor Swain also ruled that any appeal from this order would not be taken in good faith and denied fee-waiver status for an appeal.
The detailed version
- Lewis v. The City of New York · No. 1:25-cv-02655
- Edgardo Ramos
- Apr. 4, 2025
Background
Diana Lewis submitted this civil action to the Southern District of New York by email. The court explained that starting a civil action generally requires payment of $405, consisting of a $350 filing fee and a $55 administrative fee, unless the plaintiff submits an application to proceed without prepaying fees, commonly called an IFP application.
Order
The court ordered Lewis, within 30 days of the order, to either pay the $405 fee or complete, sign, and submit the attached IFP application if she could not afford the fees. The order gave instructions for payment by mail or in person. No further action would be taken, and no summons would issue or answer would be required, until the fee was paid or a completed and signed application was received.
If Lewis complied, the case would be processed under the Clerk’s Office procedures. If the court granted the IFP application, Lewis would be allowed to proceed without prepaying fees. If she failed to comply or request an extension within the allowed time, the action would be dismissed without prejudice to refiling.
Additional Ruling
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 and denied IFP status for purposes of an appeal. The opinion text is signed by Laura Taylor Swain, although the supplied case metadata identifies Edgardo Ramos as the judge.
Read the full 4-page opinion on CourtListener, the free public archive maintained by the Free Law Project.