Hill v. Foundation Media LLC
- Laura Swain
- 1:25-cv-05947
- U.S. District Court · Southern District of New York
- 4
In Hill v. Foundation Media LLC, Judge Swain ordered Lawand Hill to pay fees or seek a fee waiver and submit signed papers before the case proceeds.
Lawand Hill, who must pay the required fees or submit a fee-waiver application and sign the required papers for the case to proceed.
What happened
Lawand Hill v. Foundation Media LLC is a case brought by Lawand Hill without a lawyer. Hill submitted a complaint but did not pay the required fees or include an application to proceed without paying them.
The court ordered Hill, within 30 days, either to pay $405 in fees or submit an application to proceed without prepaying fees. Hill must also sign and resubmit the complaint and the fee-waiver application. The court said no summons or answer would issue at this time.
Chief Judge Laura Taylor Swain ordered that the action would be processed if Hill complied. If Hill did not comply within the allowed time, the action would be dismissed without prejudice. The court also denied permission to appeal without prepaying fees, finding that any appeal would not be taken in good faith.
The detailed version
- Hill v. Foundation Media LLC · No. 1:25-cv-05947
- Laura Swain
- July 25, 2025
Background
Lawand Hill filed this civil action without a lawyer. The complaint was submitted without the required filing and administrative fees and without an application to proceed without prepaying those fees. The complaint and the submitted fee application were also unsigned.
Court’s directives
The court explained that starting a civil action requires either payment of $405—consisting of a $350 filing fee and a $55 administrative fee—or submission of a signed application to proceed without prepaying fees. The court directed Hill to complete one of those options within 30 days of the order. If the court grants the application, Hill may proceed without prepaying the fees.
The court also directed Hill to sign and submit the attached signature page for the complaint and the fee application within 30 days. The requirement comes from Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 11(a), which requires an unrepresented party to personally sign pleadings and other papers.
Disposition
The court ordered that no summons or answer issue at that time. If Hill complies, the case will be processed under the Clerk’s Office procedures. If Hill does not comply within the allowed time, the action will be dismissed without prejudice, meaning the order does not bar refiling. Chief Judge Laura Taylor Swain also certified that an appeal would not be taken in good faith and denied permission to appeal without prepaying fees.
Read the full 4-page opinion on CourtListener, the free public archive maintained by the Free Law Project.