Johnson v. Dudley
- Laura Swain
- 1:25-cv-02433
- U.S. District Court · Southern District of New York
- 1
In Johnson v. Dudley, Judge Swain dismissed Johnson’s complaint without prejudice because he neither paid filing fees nor submitted a fee-waiver request.
Robert E. Johnson’s complaint was dismissed without prejudice; the opinion does not describe any ruling on the underlying claims against Kathy Dudley.
What happened
Johnson v. Dudley involved Robert E. Johnson’s complaint against Kathy Dudley. The court had ordered Johnson to submit a request to proceed without paying filing fees or to pay the required $405.00 within thirty days.
Johnson did neither. The court’s order had warned that failing to comply would result in dismissal of the complaint.
Judge Laura Taylor Swain dismissed the complaint without prejudice, meaning the order did not bar refiling. She also denied fee-waiver status for any appeal and directed the Clerk of Court to enter judgment.
The detailed version
- Johnson v. Dudley · No. 1:25-cv-02433
- Laura Swain
- Apr. 28, 2025
Background
Robert E. Johnson filed a complaint against Kathy Dudley. On March 25, 2025, the court directed Johnson, within thirty days, either to submit a completed application to proceed without paying the filing fee or to pay the $405.00 filing fee required for a civil action in that court. The court warned that failing to comply would result in dismissal.
Court’s Action
Johnson did not submit the fee-waiver application and did not pay the filing fee. The court therefore dismissed the complaint without prejudice. The opinion does not address the underlying claims against Dudley.
The court also certified under 28 U.S.C. § 1915(a)(3) that an appeal from the order would not be taken in good faith. It therefore denied permission to proceed without paying fees for purposes of an appeal. The court directed the Clerk of Court to enter judgment.
Disposition
The complaint was dismissed without prejudice, and fee-waiver status for an appeal was denied.
Read the full 1-page opinion on CourtListener, the free public archive maintained by the Free Law Project.