Mott v. Gallego-Manzano
- Laura Swain
- 1:25-cv-06599
- U.S. District Court · Southern District of New York
- 2
In Mott v. Gallego-Manzano, Judge Swain ordered Ricky Mott to pay $405 or request permission to proceed without prepaying fees within 30 days.
Ricky Mott, who was ordered to pay the required fees or submit an application to proceed without prepaying them; the order also concerns the action listing ABC Mining Co. as a plaintiff.
What happened
In Mott v. Gallego-Manzano, Ricky Mott and ABC Mining Co. filed a civil action, but Ricky Mott submitted the complaint without paying the required fees or providing an application to proceed without prepaying them.
The court ordered Ricky Mott, within 30 days, to pay $405—consisting of a $350 filing fee and a $55 administrative fee—or submit a signed application to proceed without prepaying fees. The court said no summons would issue at that time and warned that the action would be dismissed if the order was not followed.
Chief Judge Laura Taylor Swain also ruled that any appeal from the order would not be taken in good faith and denied permission to appeal without prepaying fees. The order did not decide the underlying claims.
The detailed version
- Mott v. Gallego-Manzano · No. 1:25-cv-06599
- Laura Swain
- Aug. 11, 2025
Background
Ricky Mott and ABC Mining Co. are listed as plaintiffs in the action against Matias Gallego-Manzano. The opinion states that the plaintiff brought the action without a lawyer. Ricky Mott submitted the complaint without paying the required fees and without submitting an application to proceed in forma pauperis (IFP), meaning without prepaying court fees.
The court noted that proceeding without prepayment under 28 U.S.C. § 1915 is available only to natural persons. For that reason, the court referred to Ricky Mott as “Plaintiff” in the action.
Order
The court directed Ricky Mott to do one of two things within 30 days of the order’s date: pay $405 in fees, consisting of a $350 filing fee and a $55 administrative fee, or submit the attached signed IFP application. If the court grants the application, Ricky Mott may proceed without prepaying the fees. The application should identify docket number 25-CV-6599 (LTS).
No summons was to issue at that time. The court stated that, if the plaintiff complied with the order, the case would be processed under the Clerk’s Office procedures. If the plaintiff failed to comply within the permitted time, the action would be dismissed.
Appeal provision and disposition
Chief 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 IFP status for purposes of an appeal. This order addressed payment of the filing fees and access to the fee-waiver process; it did not decide the underlying claims.
Read the full 2-page opinion on CourtListener, the free public archive maintained by the Free Law Project.