Shepard v. Bradley
- Laura Swain
- 1:25-cv-04752
- U.S. District Court · Southern District of New York
- 2
In Shepard v. Bradley, Judge Swain ordered Tanzue Shepard to pay fees or submit a corrected application and sign the complaint.
Tanzue Shepard must either pay the required fees or submit a corrected fee-waiver application and must also sign and resubmit the complaint’s signature page. Ms. Bradley and the County of Westchester are affected because the case will not proceed to summons issuance unless Shepard complies.
What happened
In Shepard v. Bradley, Tanzue Shepard brought the action without a lawyer and submitted an application asking to proceed without paying court fees. The application stated that Shepard had no income, assets, or expenses, but did not explain how Shepard was providing for personal needs.
The court gave Shepard 30 days to either pay $405 in fees or submit an amended application explaining facts showing an inability to pay. The court also required Shepard to submit a signed complaint signature page. No summons will issue for now, and the action will be dismissed if Shepard does not comply within the allowed time.
Judge Laura Taylor Swain also ruled that any appeal from this order would not be taken in good faith and denied fee-free status for an appeal.
The detailed version
- Shepard v. Bradley · No. 1:25-cv-04752
- Laura Swain
- Aug. 12, 2025
Background
Tanzue Shepard brought this civil action without a lawyer against Ms. Bradley and the County of Westchester. To proceed without paying court fees in advance, Shepard submitted an application for permission to do so, commonly called an IFP application. The application stated that Shepard had no income, assets, or expenses, but did not explain how Shepard was providing for personal needs.
The complaint also did not include a personal signature. The court cited Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 11(a), which requires an unrepresented party to sign pleadings and other papers.
Order
The court ordered Shepard, within 30 days of August 12, 2025, to do both of the following:
1. Either pay $405 in fees—a $350 filing fee and a $55 administrative fee—or submit an amended application to proceed without prepaying fees. The amended application must provide facts establishing that Shepard cannot pay and must identify docket number 25-CV-4752 (LTS). 2. Resubmit the complaint’s signature page with a personal signature.
If the court grants the amended application, Shepard may proceed without prepaying the fees. No summons will issue at this time. If Shepard does not comply within the permitted period, the action will be dismissed. The order does not decide the merits of Shepard’s claims against Ms. Bradley or the County of Westchester.
Appeal and disposition
The court certified under 28 U.S.C. § 1915(a)(3) that any appeal from this order would not be taken in good faith and denied permission to proceed without prepaying fees for an appeal. The order directs payment or correction of filing materials; it does not dismiss the action at this stage.
Read the full 2-page opinion on CourtListener, the free public archive maintained by the Free Law Project.