Carter v. Doe
- Laura Swain
- 1:25-cv-04524
- U.S. District Court · Southern District of New York
- 1
In Carter v. DOE, Judge Swain dismissed the complaint without prejudice because Carter neither filed required forms nor paid filing fees.
John Carter, whose complaint was dismissed without prejudice and whose request to proceed without paying fees for an appeal was denied.
What happened
In John Carter v. DOE, the court had ordered Carter to submit an application to proceed without paying filing fees, a required prisoner authorization, or the $405 filing fee within 30 days. The order warned that failing to comply would lead to dismissal.
Carter did not submit the required forms or pay the filing fee. The court therefore dismissed the complaint without prejudice, meaning the dismissal did not bar refiling. The court also directed the Clerk of Court to enter judgment.
Judge Laura Taylor Swain ruled that any appeal would not be taken in good faith and denied Carter permission to proceed without paying fees for an appeal.
The detailed version
- Carter v. Doe · No. 1:25-cv-04524
- Laura Swain
- Aug. 12, 2025
Background
By an order dated June 17, 2025, the court directed John Carter to do one of two things within 30 days: submit a completed application to proceed without prepaying filing fees and a prisoner authorization, or pay the $405 required filing fee for a civil action. The earlier order stated that failing to comply would result in dismissal.
Ruling
Carter did not submit the application and prisoner authorization, and he did not pay the filing fee. The court therefore dismissed the complaint without prejudice under 28 U.S.C. §§ 1914 and 1915.
The court certified under 28 U.S.C. § 1915(a)(3) that an appeal from the order would not be taken in good faith. It therefore denied permission to proceed without paying fees for an appeal. The court also directed the Clerk of Court to enter judgment.
Effect
The opinion states that the complaint was dismissed without prejudice. It does not decide the underlying claims against DOE.
Read the full 1-page opinion on CourtListener, the free public archive maintained by the Free Law Project.