Williams v. The City of New York
- Laura Swain
- 1:25-cv-02855
- U.S. District Court · Southern District of New York
- 2
In Williams v. The City of New York, Judge Swain ordered Williams to pay $405 or submit an application to proceed without prepaying fees.
Rahjeem Williams, who filed the action without a lawyer, must either pay the required fees or submit an application to proceed without prepaying them.
What happened
In Williams v. The City of New York, Rahjeem Williams filed a civil case without paying the required fees or submitting an application to proceed without prepaying them. The opinion identifies Williams as representing himself.
The court ordered Williams, within 30 days, to either pay $405 or submit a signed application to proceed without prepaying fees. No summons will issue at this time, and the action will be dismissed if Williams does not comply within the deadline.
Judge Laura Taylor Swain also ruled that any appeal from this order would not be taken in good faith and denied permission to proceed without prepaying fees for an appeal.
The detailed version
- Williams v. The City of New York · No. 1:25-cv-02855
- Laura Swain
- Apr. 9, 2025
Background
Rahjeem Williams filed this civil action without paying the filing fees and without submitting an application to proceed without prepaying fees. The opinion states that Williams is representing himself.
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 submission of a signed application to proceed without prepaying fees. The court ordered Williams to take one of those steps within 30 days of the order. If Williams submits the application, it must identify docket number 1:25-CV-2855 (LTS). If the court grants the application, Williams may proceed without prepaying fees.
No summons will issue at this time. The action will be processed under the Clerk’s Office procedures if Williams complies. If Williams does not comply within the allowed time, the action will be dismissed.
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.
Read the full 2-page opinion on CourtListener, the free public archive maintained by the Free Law Project.