Rivera v. Doe
- Laura Swain
- 1:25-cv-04519
- U.S. District Court · Southern District of New York
- 1
In Rivera v. Doe, Judge Swain dismissed Rivera’s complaint without prejudice because he neither paid filing fees nor submitted required forms.
Christopher Rivera’s complaint was dismissed without prejudice because he did not submit the required fee-waiver materials or pay the filing fee. The order states that he may file a new action based on the same facts, but denies permission to appeal without paying fees.
What happened
In Rivera v. Doe, the court had ordered Christopher Rivera to submit an application to proceed without paying filing fees and a prisoner authorization, or to pay the $405 filing fee. Rivera did neither within the required thirty days.
The court dismissed the complaint without prejudice, meaning the order did not prevent Rivera from filing a new action based on the same facts. The court also denied permission to appeal without paying fees, finding that any appeal would not be taken in good faith, and directed the clerk to enter judgment.
Chief Judge Laura Taylor Swain issued the order on July 14, 2025. The opinion does not address the underlying claims, and a footnote states that Rivera had not updated his address, so it was unclear whether he received the earlier order.
The detailed version
- Rivera v. Doe · No. 1:25-cv-04519
- Laura Swain
- July 14, 2025
Background
The court had previously ordered Christopher Rivera to submit a completed application to proceed without paying filing fees and a prisoner authorization, or to pay the $405 required filing fee for a civil action. The deadline was thirty days, and the earlier order warned that failing to comply would result in dismissal.
Rivera did not submit the application and authorization and did not pay the filing fee. A footnote states that Rivera had not updated his address and that it was unclear whether he received the earlier order.
Ruling
The court dismissed the complaint without prejudice under 28 U.S.C. §§ 1914 and 1915. The order states that nothing in the dismissal prevents Rivera from filing a new action based on these facts.
The court also certified under 28 U.S.C. § 1915(a)(3) that an appeal would not be taken in good faith and denied permission to appeal without paying filing fees. The court directed the clerk to enter judgment. Chief Judge Laura Taylor Swain signed the order.
What the Order Did Not Decide
The opinion does not identify or resolve the underlying legal claims. The dismissal was based on Rivera’s failure to comply with the filing-fee or fee-waiver requirements.
Read the full 1-page opinion on CourtListener, the free public archive maintained by the Free Law Project.