Doe v. The Mount Sinai Hospital
- Laura Swain
- 1:25-cv-06171
- U.S. District Court · Southern District of New York
- 4
In Doe v. The Mount Sinai Hospital, Judge Swain ordered Jane Doe to pay fees or submit an application to proceed without prepayment.
Jane Doe must either pay the $405 fee or submit a completed and signed application to proceed without prepaying fees within 30 days of August 7, 2025. If she does neither, the action will be dismissed without prejudice to refiling. The Mount Sinai Hospital is not required to answer, and no summons will issue, until the fee or application is received.
What happened
Doe v. The Mount Sinai Hospital was submitted to the Southern District of New York by email. The court had not yet issued a summons or required the hospital to answer because Jane Doe had not paid the required fees or requested permission to proceed without prepayment.
The court gave Jane Doe 30 days from August 7, 2025, to pay $405 or submit a signed application showing that she cannot afford the fees. The case will not proceed until one of those steps is completed.
Judge Laura Taylor Swain ordered that the action will be dismissed without prejudice to refiling if Jane Doe does not comply or request more time. Judge Swain also denied permission to proceed without prepaying fees for any appeal from this order.
The detailed version
- Doe v. The Mount Sinai Hospital · No. 1:25-cv-06171
- Laura Swain
- Aug. 7, 2025
Background
Jane Doe submitted this civil action to the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York by email. The order does not describe the underlying claims against The Mount Sinai Hospital.
Fee or fee-waiver requirement
The court explained that a person starting a civil action must either pay $405 in fees or submit a signed application to proceed without prepaying fees. The $405 consists of a $350 filing fee and a $55 administrative fee. The application is commonly called an application to proceed in forma pauperis, or IFP application.
The court ordered Jane Doe, within 30 days of August 7, 2025, to either pay the fees or complete, sign, and submit the attached IFP application if she cannot afford them. The order provides instructions for paying by mail or in person. If Jane Doe submits an IFP application, the court may grant it and allow her to proceed without prepaying the fees.
Effect of the order
The court stated that no further action would be taken, no summons would issue, and The Mount Sinai Hospital would not be required to answer until the fees were paid or a completed and signed IFP application was received. If Jane Doe fails to comply or fails to request an extension of time, the action will be dismissed without prejudice to refiling.
Judge Laura Taylor Swain also certified that an appeal from the order would not be taken in good faith and denied IFP status for purposes of an appeal. The order does not decide the merits of Jane Doe's claims.
Read the full 4-page opinion on CourtListener, the free public archive maintained by the Free Law Project.