Richards v. Tesla Inc.
- Joseph Spero
- 3:25-cv-06013
- U.S. District Court · Northern District of California
- 1
In Teddy Richards v. Tesla Inc., Judge Orrick dismissed the case without prejudice because Richards neither paid the filing fee nor completed his fee-waiver application.
Teddy Richards's case against Tesla Inc. was dismissed without prejudice because he did not pay the filing fee, submit a complete fee-waiver application, or comply with the court's orders.
What happened
Teddy Richards sued Tesla Inc. in the Northern District of California.
The court had previously ordered Richards to pay the filing fee after he did not provide enough information to proceed without paying the fee. The court gave him 30 days to pay or submit a complete application, but he did neither.
Judge William H. Orrick dismissed the case without prejudice for failure to pay the filing fee, failure to submit a complete application, and failure to follow the court’s orders.
The detailed version
- Richards v. Tesla Inc. · No. 3:25-cv-06013
- Joseph Spero
- Oct. 16, 2025
Background
Richards had asked to proceed without paying the filing fee by submitting an application to proceed in forma pauperis, meaning without prepaying the court’s filing fee. The opinion states that, on September 9, 2025, the court adopted a report and recommendation by Judge Joseph C. Spero. The court found that Richards had not provided complete and sufficient information for that request to be approved. It ordered him to pay the filing fee within 30 days.
Ruling
As of October 16, 2025, Richards had not paid the filing fee and had not submitted a complete and sufficient application to proceed without paying it. Judge William H. Orrick dismissed the case without prejudice for failure to pay the filing fee, failure to submit a complete and sufficient application, and failure to comply with the court’s orders.
Effect of the Order
The opinion does not decide the underlying dispute between Richards and Tesla Inc. The case was dismissed without prejudice.
Read the full 1-page opinion on CourtListener, the free public archive maintained by the Free Law Project.