Scales v. Paramount video
- Laura Swain
- 1:25-cv-02630
- U.S. District Court · Southern District of New York
- 4
In Scales v. Paramount Video, Judge Swain ordered William Scales to pay $405 or submit an IFP application within 30 days.
William Scales and Paramount Video; the order directly requires action by Scales.
What happened
In Scales v. Paramount Video, William Scales filed a civil action without paying the required fees or submitting an application to proceed without prepaying them. The order does not describe the claims in his complaint.
The court ordered Scales, within 30 days, to pay $405 in filing and administrative fees or submit a signed application to proceed without prepaying fees. No summons will issue yet. If he complies, the Clerk’s Office will process the case; if he does not, the action will be dismissed.
Chief United States District Judge Laura Taylor Swain also certified that an appeal from this order would not be taken in good faith and denied permission to appeal without prepaying fees.
The detailed version
- Scales v. Paramount video · No. 1:25-cv-02630
- Laura Swain
- June 17, 2025
Background
William Scales brought this civil action pro se, meaning without a lawyer. The opinion does not describe the claims or the relief sought. Scales submitted his complaint without paying the required fees and without an application to proceed without prepaying them.
Fee requirement
The court explained that a civil action requires payment of $405: a $350 filing fee and a $55 administrative fee. A plaintiff who cannot prepay those fees may request permission to proceed without prepaying fees by submitting a signed application under 28 U.S.C. § 1915.
Order
The court ordered Scales to do one of two things within 30 days of the order’s date: pay the $405 in fees or submit the attached application to proceed without prepaying fees. If he submits the application, it must include docket number 1:25-CV-2630 (LTS). The court stated that, if it grants the application, Scales may proceed without prepaying the fees.
No summons will issue at this time. If Scales complies with the order, the Clerk’s Office will process the case under its procedures. If he does not comply within the allowed time, the action will be dismissed.
Appeal-related ruling
Chief United States District Judge Laura Taylor Swain certified under 28 U.S.C. § 1915(a)(3) that an appeal from this order would not be taken in good faith. The court therefore denied permission to appeal without prepaying fees. The opinion does not rule on the merits of Scales’s underlying claims.
Read the full 4-page opinion on CourtListener, the free public archive maintained by the Free Law Project.