Dean v. U.S.A. Inc.
- Laura Swain
- 1:25-cv-04604
- U.S. District Court · Southern District of New York
- 2
In Dean v. U.S.A. Inc., Chief Judge Swain ordered Alexandra M. Dean to pay fees or complete an IFP application within 30 days.
Alexandra M. Dean and the other individuals on whose behalf she filed the action; the case will not proceed unless the required fee is paid or a complete IFP application is submitted.
What happened
Dean v. U.S.A. Inc. is a new civil case brought by Alexandra M. Dean, who is representing herself and several other individuals. She submitted a complaint without paying the required fees and without providing the financial information needed for a request to proceed without paying fees up front.
The court denied Dean’s request to waive the fees without financial information. It ordered her, within 30 days, either to pay $405 or submit a completed and signed application showing that she cannot pay. No summons will issue yet, and the court said it will dismiss the action if she does not comply.
Chief Judge Laura Taylor Swain also ruled that any appeal from this order would not be taken in good faith and denied fee-waiver status for an appeal. The order did not address the underlying claims.
The detailed version
- Dean v. U.S.A. Inc. · No. 1:25-cv-04604
- Laura Swain
- June 13, 2025
Background
Alexandra M. Dean filed a new civil action against U.S.A. Inc. The opinion describes the action as being brought against the United States and says Dean is proceeding without a lawyer on behalf of herself and several other individuals.
To begin a civil action in the court, a person must either pay $405 in fees—$350 for filing and $55 for administration—or request permission to proceed without prepaying fees. This permission is commonly called in forma pauperis, or IFP. An IFP applicant must submit a completed and signed application with financial information showing an inability to pay.
Dean submitted a complaint without paying the fees and submitted an incomplete IFP application. Instead of providing financial information, she stated that the people bringing the case demanded to proceed for free without disclosing personal financial information and argued that IFP requirements were unconstitutional and imposed an undue burden.
Court’s Analysis
The court explained that filing fees have been upheld by the Supreme Court and that fees may be waived when a completed IFP application shows that the applicant cannot pay. The court therefore denied Dean’s request to waive the fees without providing financial information.
Order
Within 30 days of the order, Dean must either pay the $405 in fees or complete, sign, and submit the attached IFP application, labeled with docket number 25-CV-4604 (LTS). If the court grants the application, she may proceed without prepaying the fees.
The court ordered that no summons issue at that time. It stated that the action will be processed through the Clerk’s Office if Dean complies, but that the action will be dismissed if she does not comply within the allowed time. The court also certified that an appeal from the order would not be taken in good faith and denied IFP status for purposes of an appeal.
Chief United States District Judge Laura Taylor Swain did not decide the merits of Dean’s underlying claims.
Read the full 2-page opinion on CourtListener, the free public archive maintained by the Free Law Project.