Matthews v. Chang
- James Oetken
- 1:25-cv-06050
- U.S. District Court · Southern District of New York
- 2
In Matthews v. Chang, Judge Swain ordered the unrepresented plaintiffs to pay $405 or submit applications to proceed without prepaying fees within 30 days, or the action will be dismissed.
Alexander Matthews and Shi Yongwei, who must either pay the required fees or submit applications to proceed without prepaying fees within 30 days to avoid dismissal of the action.
What happened
In Matthews v. Chang, Alexander Matthews and Shi Yongwei filed a civil action against Jie Chang without paying the required fees or submitting applications to proceed without prepaying fees.
The court gave the plaintiffs 30 days to pay $405, consisting of a $350 filing fee and a $55 administrative fee, or submit signed applications requesting permission to proceed without prepayment. No summons will issue at this time, and the case will be processed if they comply; otherwise, the action will be dismissed.
Judge Laura Taylor Swain also certified that an appeal would not be taken in good faith and denied permission to proceed without prepaying fees for an appeal.
The detailed version
- Matthews v. Chang · No. 1:25-cv-06050
- James Oetken
- July 24, 2025
Background
Alexander Matthews and Shi Yongwei brought this civil action against Jie Chang without a lawyer. They filed the complaint without paying the required fees and without submitting applications to proceed without prepaying fees.
Order
The court explained that a plaintiff generally must either pay $405—the $350 filing fee plus a $55 administrative fee—or submit a signed application requesting permission to proceed without prepayment under 28 U.S.C. § 1915. The court ordered the plaintiffs, within 30 days of the order, to pay the $405 or submit the attached applications, labeled with docket number 25-CV-6050 (LTS). If the court grants the applications, the plaintiffs may proceed without prepaying the fees.
No summons will issue at this time. If the plaintiffs comply, the case will be processed under the Clerk’s Office procedures. If they do not comply within the permitted time, the action will be dismissed.
Appeal
Judge Laura Taylor Swain certified under 28 U.S.C. § 1915(a)(3) that any appeal from the order would not be taken in good faith. The court therefore denied permission to proceed without prepaying fees for an appeal.
Disposition
The order directs the plaintiffs to pay the required fees or submit applications to proceed without prepayment within 30 days. It does not decide the underlying claims against the defendant.
Read the full 2-page opinion on CourtListener, the free public archive maintained by the Free Law Project.