Howard v. Roberts Jr.
- Laura Swain
- 1:25-cv-06940
- U.S. District Court · Southern District of New York
- 4
In Latesha Howard v. Roberts, Judge Swain ordered Howard to pay fees or submit an application to proceed without prepaying them.
Latesha Howard must either pay the required $405 in fees or submit an application to proceed without prepaying them within 30 days; otherwise, her action will be dismissed.
What happened
In Latesha Howard v. Roberts, Latesha Howard filed a civil complaint without paying the required fees or submitting an application to proceed without prepaying them.
The court gave Howard 30 days to pay $405 or submit the attached application. No summons will issue yet, and the case will be processed if she complies; otherwise, the action will be dismissed.
Judge Laura Taylor Swain also denied fee-free status for any appeal, finding that an appeal would not be taken in good faith.
The detailed version
- Howard v. Roberts Jr. · No. 1:25-cv-06940
- Laura Swain
- Aug. 29, 2025
Background
Latesha Howard brought this civil action without a lawyer. The opinion does not describe the underlying claims. Howard submitted the complaint without paying the required filing and administrative fees and without submitting an application to proceed without prepaying fees.
Court’s Order
The court explained that filing a civil action required either payment of $405—$350 for the filing fee and $55 for the administrative fee—or a signed application requesting permission to proceed without prepaying fees. The court ordered Howard, within 30 days of the order, to do one of those two things. If she submits the application, the court instructed her to label it with docket number 25-CV-4784 (LTS). The court stated that, if it grants the application, Howard 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 Howard complies. If she does not comply within the permitted time, the action will be dismissed.
Appeal
The court certified under federal law that an appeal from this order would not be taken in good faith and denied permission to proceed without prepaying fees for purposes of an appeal. Judge Laura Taylor Swain signed the order on August 29, 2025.
Read the full 4-page opinion on CourtListener, the free public archive maintained by the Free Law Project.