Pettigrew v. Hall of Fame Home Buyers LLC
- Laura Swain
- 1:25-cv-03603
- U.S. District Court · Southern District of New York
- 2
In Pettigrew v. Hall of Fame Home Buyers LLC, Judge Swain ordered payment or a corrected fee-waiver application within 30 days, delaying summons issuance.
Isaac Pettigrew, who must either pay the required fees or submit a complete amended IFP application before the action can proceed.
What happened
In Pettigrew v. Hall of Fame Home Buyers LLC, Isaac Pettigrew filed a civil action without a lawyer and asked to proceed without paying filing fees upfront. His application was incomplete because he had not answered every question.
The court also said its public records showed that Pettigrew had settled several cases during the previous 12 months, but his application did not mention any settlement payments. The court therefore required additional information before the case could proceed.
Judge Laura Taylor Swain ordered Pettigrew, within 30 days, either to pay $405 in fees or submit a corrected application. No summons will issue for now, and the action will be dismissed without prejudice if he does not comply. The court also denied fee-waiver status for any appeal from this order.
The detailed version
- Pettigrew v. Hall of Fame Home Buyers LLC · No. 1:25-cv-03603
- Laura Swain
- May 6, 2025
Background
Isaac Pettigrew brought this civil action without a lawyer. To begin a civil action in the Southern District of New York, a plaintiff must either pay the required fees or submit a signed application to proceed without prepaying fees, commonly called an application to proceed in forma pauperis (IFP). The court stated that the required fees total $405: a $350 filing fee and a $55 administrative fee.
Pettigrew submitted an IFP application, but the court found it incomplete because he had not answered all of the form’s questions. The court also stated that its public records showed Pettigrew had settled several actions during the preceding 12 months. His IFP application did not mention payments from those settlements.
Order
The court directed Pettigrew, within 30 days of the order, to either pay the $405 in fees or submit an amended IFP application addressing the identified deficiencies. If he submits an amended application, it must be labeled with docket number 25-CV-3603 (LTS). No summons will issue at this time.
The court stated that the action will be dismissed without prejudice if Pettigrew does not comply within the allowed period. 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 and denied IFP status for purposes of an appeal. The order did not decide the underlying claims against Hall of Fame Home Buyers LLC.
Read the full 2-page opinion on CourtListener, the free public archive maintained by the Free Law Project.