Freeman v. Doe
- Laura Swain
- 1:25-cv-04721
- U.S. District Court · Southern District of New York
- 1
In Freeman v. Doe, Chief Judge Swain dismissed the complaint without prejudice because Freeman neither paid the filing fee nor submitted required forms.
William Freeman's complaint was dismissed without prejudice after he failed to submit the required application and authorization or pay the $405 filing fee. The court also denied fee-free status for an appeal and directed entry of judgment.
What happened
In Freeman v. Doe, the court had ordered William Freeman to submit an application to proceed without paying the filing fee and a prisoner authorization, or to pay the required $405 in fees.
Freeman did none of those things within the required thirty days. The court therefore dismissed the complaint without prejudice, meaning the order did not bar a later filing.
Chief Judge Laura Taylor Swain also denied fee-free status for any appeal and directed the Clerk of Court to enter judgment.
The detailed version
- Freeman v. Doe · No. 1:25-cv-04721
- Laura Swain
- July 23, 2025
Background
On June 17, 2025, the Court ordered William Freeman to do one of two things within thirty days: submit a completed application to proceed without paying the filing fee, together with a prisoner authorization, or pay the $405 required to file a civil action. The order warned that failing to comply would result in dismissal of the complaint.
Ruling
Freeman did not submit the application and prisoner authorization and did not pay the filing fees. The Court therefore dismissed the complaint without prejudice under 28 U.S.C. §§ 1914 and 1915. The order does not address the underlying claims.
The Court certified under 28 U.S.C. § 1915(a)(3) that an appeal would not be taken in good faith and denied Freeman permission to proceed without paying fees for an appeal. Judge Laura Taylor Swain directed the Clerk of Court to enter judgment.
Read the full 1-page opinion on CourtListener, the free public archive maintained by the Free Law Project.