Murray v. Department of Law

Background

On May 29, 2025, the court granted the City’s motion to revoke Robert Lee Murray’s status allowing him to proceed without paying the filing fee. The court stated that the case would be dismissed if Murray did not pay the fee by July 1, 2025. The City reported that it reminded Murray of the deadline during a July 3 phone call. Murray had not paid the fee or contacted the court to request more time.

Court’s Analysis

The court explained that a plaintiff’s failure to pay a required filing fee after receiving notice of the obligation can support dismissal for failure to prosecute. But it also noted that courts in the district generally do not dismiss for that reason unless the failure to comply lasts several months. The court further noted that the Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit had cautioned that a self-represented litigant’s claim should be dismissed only in sufficiently extreme circumstances and after a finding of willfulness, bad faith, or reasonably serious fault.

Ruling

The court noted Murray’s failure to comply with the prior order and ordered him again to pay the filing fee. If he fails to pay by September 1, 2025, the court will assume that the failure was willful and will dismiss the case for failure to pay the filing fee and comply with the prior order and this order. The court did not dismiss the case in this order. Until Murray pays the fee, the City is relieved of all obligations and deadlines in the case.