Tripathy v. The City of New York
- Laura Swain
- 1:25-cv-06465
- U.S. District Court · Southern District of New York
- 4
In Tripathy v. The City of New York, Chief Judge Swain ordered the pro se plaintiff to pay fees or submit an application to proceed without prepaying them.
Sanjay Tripathy, who must either pay the $405 in fees or submit a signed application to proceed without prepaying fees within 30 days.
What happened
In Tripathy v. The City of New York, Sanjay Tripathy filed a complaint without paying the required fees or submitting an application to proceed without prepaying them.
The court ordered Tripathy, within 30 days, to pay $405 or submit a signed application showing why he cannot pay. No summons will issue yet, and the action will be dismissed if he does not comply.
Chief United States District Judge Laura Taylor Swain also denied permission to proceed without prepaying fees for any appeal from this order, finding that such an appeal would not be taken in good faith.
The detailed version
- Tripathy v. The City of New York · No. 1:25-cv-06465
- Laura Swain
- Aug. 14, 2025
Background
Sanjay Tripathy brought this action without a lawyer. He submitted his complaint without paying the required filing fees and without an application to proceed without prepaying fees, commonly called an application to proceed in forma pauperis.
Order
The court explained that proceeding with 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 ordered Tripathy to take one of those steps within 30 days of the order. If he submits the application, it must identify docket number 1:25-CV-6465 (LTS). If the court grants the application, he may proceed without prepaying the fees.
No summons will issue at this time. The case will be processed under the Clerk’s Office procedures if Tripathy complies. If he does not comply within the allowed time, the action will be dismissed.
Appeal provision
Chief United States District Judge Laura Taylor Swain certified that an appeal from this order would not be taken in good faith and denied permission to proceed without prepaying fees for that appeal. The order does not address the underlying claims in the complaint.
Read the full 4-page opinion on CourtListener, the free public archive maintained by the Free Law Project.