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S.D.N.Y.Procedural orderFiled July 23, 2025

Starke, Jr. v. Officer Fuentes

Judge
Laura Swain
Docket
1:25-cv-05767
Court
U.S. District Court · Southern District of New York
Pages
4
Civil Procedure
In one sentence

In Starke, Jr. v. Officer Fuentes, Judge Swain ordered payment or an IFP application before the case could proceed.

Who this affects

Charles Bernard Starke, Jr., whose case cannot proceed unless he pays the required fees or submits a completed and signed application to proceed without prepaying them.

What happened

Starke, Jr. v. Officer Fuentes is a civil action submitted to the Southern District of New York by email and assigned a docket number.

The court ordered Charles Bernard Starke, Jr. to pay $405 or submit a signed application to proceed without paying fees within 30 days. Until then, the case will not proceed, and no summons or answer is required.

Judge Laura Taylor Swain stated that failure to comply would result in dismissal without prejudice to refiling. She also denied permission to proceed without paying fees on appeal because any appeal would not be taken in good faith.

The detailed version

For law students, journalists, and other readers who want the full reasoning

Case
Starke, Jr. v. Officer Fuentes · No. 1:25-cv-05767
Judge
Laura Swain
Date
July 23, 2025

Background

Charles Bernard Starke, Jr.’s action was submitted to the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York by email. The opinion does not address the underlying claims against Officer Fuentes or the other defendants.

Order

The court directed Starke to either pay $405 in fees or submit a completed and signed application to proceed without prepaying fees, commonly called an IFP application. The $405 consists of a $350 filing fee and a $55 administrative fee. He had 30 days from the date of the order to comply or request an extension.

The court stated that no further action would be taken, and no summons would issue or answer would be required, until payment or a completed and signed IFP application was received. If the application were granted, Starke would be allowed to proceed without prepaying the fees.

Disposition

The court ordered payment of the fees or submission of an IFP application. If Starke failed to comply or seek an extension within the allowed time, the action would be dismissed without prejudice to refiling. The court also certified that an appeal from the order would not be taken in good faith and denied IFP status for purposes of an appeal. Chief United States District Judge Laura Taylor Swain signed the order.

The authoritative version

Read the full 4-page opinion on CourtListener, the free public archive maintained by the Free Law Project.

Open opinion PDF →
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