Farmer v. Doe
- Laura Swain
- 1:25-cv-03514
- U.S. District Court · Southern District of New York
- 1
In Farmer v. Doe, Judge Swain dismissed Richard Farmer’s complaint without prejudice after he failed to pay fees or submit required forms.
Richard Farmer’s complaint was dismissed without prejudice because he did not submit the required fee-waiver materials or pay the filing fees; the court also denied fee-waiver status for an appeal.
What happened
In Farmer v. Doe, the court had ordered Richard Farmer to submit an application to proceed without paying filing fees and a prisoner authorization, or to pay the required $405 in fees. The order gave him thirty days to comply.
Farmer did not submit the required documents or pay the fees. The court therefore dismissed the complaint without prejudice, meaning the dismissal did not bar refiling. The opinion does not address the complaint’s underlying claims.
Judge Laura Taylor Swain also ruled that any appeal would not be taken in good faith and denied fee-waiver status for an appeal. She directed the Clerk of Court to enter judgment.
The detailed version
- Farmer v. Doe · No. 1:25-cv-03514
- Laura Swain
- June 9, 2025
Background
On April 30, 2025, the court directed Richard Farmer to submit a completed application to proceed without paying filing fees and a prisoner authorization within thirty days, or to pay the $405 required to file a civil action. The court warned that failing to comply would result in dismissal of the complaint.
Reason for Dismissal
Farmer did not submit the application and prisoner authorization and did not pay the filing fees. The court dismissed the complaint without prejudice under 28 U.S.C. §§ 1914 and 1915. The opinion does not discuss the substance of Farmer’s claims.
Appeal and Judgment
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 Farmer permission to proceed without paying fees for an appeal and directed the Clerk of Court to enter judgment.
Read the full 1-page opinion on CourtListener, the free public archive maintained by the Free Law Project.