Menkes v. United States Department of Education
- Laura Swain
- 1:25-cv-02983
- U.S. District Court · Southern District of New York
- 2
In Menkes v. Department of Education, Judge Swain ordered Sheryl Menkes to pay $405 or request permission to proceed without paying fees, or face dismissal without prejudice.
Sheryl Menkes must either pay the $405 fee or submit a completed and signed application to proceed without paying fees in advance. If she does neither within the allowed time, the action will be dismissed without prejudice to refiling.
What happened
In Menkes v. United States Department of Education, the court ordered Sheryl Menkes to either pay the required $405 in fees or submit a signed application asking to proceed without paying them.
The case will not move forward, and no summons or answer will be required, until payment or a completed application is received. The order gave Menkes 30 days to comply or request more time.
Judge Swain stated that failure to comply would result in dismissal without prejudice, meaning the case could be filed again. She also denied permission to proceed without paying fees for any appeal from this order.
The detailed version
- Menkes v. United States Department of Education · No. 1:25-cv-02983
- Laura Swain
- Apr. 10, 2025
Order
The court issued an order directing Sheryl Menkes to either pay the fees for starting the civil action or submit a signed application to proceed without prepaying fees. The case had been submitted to the court by email and assigned the stated docket number.
Required payment or application
Within 30 days after the order, Menkes had to pay $405 or submit a completed and signed application to proceed without paying the fees in advance. The order states that the $405 consists of a $350 filing fee and a $55 administrative fee, subject to possible updates in the court's fee schedule. It also provides instructions for paying by mail or in person.
Effect on the case
The court directed that no further action would be taken and no summons would issue until the fees were paid or a completed and signed application was received. If Menkes complied, the Clerk's Office would process the case under its procedures. If she failed to comply or failed to request an extension of time, the action would be dismissed without prejudice to refiling.
Appeal
The court certified under 28 U.S.C. § 1915(a)(3) that an appeal from the order would not be taken in good faith and denied permission to proceed without paying fees for purposes of an appeal.
Disposition
This was a filing-fee and case-processing order. It did not decide the underlying claims against the United States Department of Education.
Read the full 2-page opinion on CourtListener, the free public archive maintained by the Free Law Project.