Ledesma v. Doe
- Laura Swain
- 1:25-cv-02261
- U.S. District Court · Southern District of New York
- 1
In Ledesma v. Doe, Judge Swain dismissed the complaint without prejudice after Ledesma neither paid filing fees nor submitted required forms.
Luis Ledesma's complaint was dismissed without prejudice because he did not pay the required filing fees or submit the required documents. Any appeal would not qualify for permission to proceed without paying fees under the court's certification.
What happened
In Ledesma v. Doe, the court had ordered Luis Ledesma to submit an application to proceed without paying filing fees and a required authorization, or pay $405 to file the civil action. The order warned that failing to comply would lead to dismissal.
Ledesma did not submit the required documents or pay the fees. The court therefore dismissed the complaint without prejudice, meaning the order did not bar refiling. The court also directed the Clerk of Court to enter judgment.
Chief Judge Laura Taylor Swain ruled that any appeal would not be taken in good faith and denied Ledesma permission to proceed without paying fees for an appeal.
The detailed version
- Ledesma v. Doe · No. 1:25-cv-02261
- Laura Swain
- Apr. 28, 2025
Background
By an order dated March 20, 2025, the court directed Luis Ledesma to do one of two things within 30 days: submit a completed application to proceed without paying the filing fee, along with a required authorization, or pay the $405 in fees required to file a civil action. The court warned that failure to comply would result in dismissal.
Ruling
Ledesma did not submit the application and authorization and did not pay the filing fees. The court dismissed the complaint without prejudice, meaning the dismissal did not bar refiling. The court relied on 28 U.S.C. §§ 1914 and 1915.
The court also certified under 28 U.S.C. § 1915(a)(3) that any appeal from the order would not be taken in good faith. It therefore denied permission to proceed without paying fees for an appeal. The court directed the Clerk of Court to enter judgment. Chief Judge Laura Taylor Swain signed the order.
Read the full 1-page opinion on CourtListener, the free public archive maintained by the Free Law Project.