Best v. Murray
- Laura Swain
- 1:25-cv-05265
- U.S. District Court · Southern District of New York
- 4
In Best v. Murray, Judge Swain ordered Theodore O. Best to pay $405 or request a fee waiver within 30 days, or the action will be dismissed.
Theodore O. Best, who must either pay the required filing fees or submit a signed application to proceed without prepaying them within 30 days to avoid dismissal of the action.
What happened
In Best v. Murray, Theodore O. Best filed a civil action without paying the required fees or submitting an application to proceed without prepaying them. The opinion does not describe the claims against Patrick Murray or the other defendants.
The court ordered Best, who is representing himself, to pay $405 or submit a signed application for a fee waiver within 30 days. No summons will issue yet, and the action will be dismissed if he does not comply.
Judge Laura Taylor Swain also ruled that an appeal from this order would not be taken in good faith and denied fee-waiver status for an appeal.
The detailed version
- Best v. Murray · No. 1:25-cv-05265
- Laura Swain
- July 18, 2025
Background
Theodore O. Best brought this civil action against Patrick Murray and other defendants while representing himself. He submitted the complaint without paying the required fees and without submitting an application to proceed without prepaying fees.
Order
The court explained that filing a civil action in the Southern District of New York requires either payment of a $405 total fee—$350 for filing and $55 for administration—or a signed application to proceed without prepaying fees. The court directed Best, within 30 days of the order, to pay the $405 fee or submit the attached application and identify the case by docket number 1:25-CV-5265 (LTS). If the court grants the application, Best may proceed without prepaying the fees.
No summons will issue at this time. The case will be processed under the Clerk’s Office procedures if Best complies. The court stated that the action will be dismissed if he does not comply within the allowed time.
Appeal ruling
Judge Laura Taylor Swain certified that any appeal from this order would not be taken in good faith and denied Best permission to proceed without prepaying fees for purposes of an appeal. The opinion does not address the merits of Best’s underlying claims.
Read the full 4-page opinion on CourtListener, the free public archive maintained by the Free Law Project.