Kimbrough v. Center for Justice Innovation
- Laura Swain
- 1:25-cv-03951
- U.S. District Court · Southern District of New York
- 1
In Kimbrough v. Center for Justice Innovation, Judge Swain dismissed the action without prejudice because Kimbrough neither paid filing fees nor submitted an IFP application.
The dismissal affects Melvin Dewayne Kimbrough's action against the Center for Justice Innovation and the other named defendants. The action was dismissed without prejudice, and permission to appeal without paying fees was denied.
What happened
In Kimbrough v. Center for Justice Innovation, the court ordered Melvin Dewayne Kimbrough to submit an application to proceed without paying filing fees or pay the required $405 filing fee within 30 days.
Kimbrough did neither. The court therefore dismissed the action without prejudice, meaning the dismissal did not bar a new filing based on this order.
Judge Laura Taylor Swain also denied Kimbrough permission to appeal without paying fees, finding that an appeal would not be taken in good faith, and directed the clerk to enter judgment dismissing the action.
The detailed version
- Kimbrough v. Center for Justice Innovation · No. 1:25-cv-03951
- Laura Swain
- Aug. 20, 2025
Background
The court had previously ordered Plaintiff Melvin Dewayne Kimbrough to submit a completed application to proceed without paying the filing fee or to pay the $405 fee required to file a civil action. The court gave him 30 days and warned that failing to comply would result in dismissal.
Court's Ruling
The court found that Kimbrough had not submitted the application or paid the fee. It therefore dismissed the action without prejudice under 28 U.S.C. §§ 1914 and 1915. The opinion does not address the merits of the claims against the Center for Justice Innovation or any other defendant.
The court also certified under 28 U.S.C. § 1915(a)(3) that an appeal would not be taken in good faith and denied permission to appeal without paying fees. Judge Laura Taylor Swain directed the clerk to enter judgment dismissing the action for the stated reason.
Read the full 1-page opinion on CourtListener, the free public archive maintained by the Free Law Project.