Tkaczyk v. National Railroad Passenger Corporation
- Laura Swain
- 1:25-cv-06649
- U.S. District Court · Southern District of New York
- 2
In Tkaczyk v. Amtrak, Judge Swain ordered payment or a complete fee-waiver application within 30 days, or dismissal without prejudice.
Teri Tkaczyk must pay the $405 fee or submit a complete and signed amended application within 30 days, or request an extension. The case will not proceed until one of those steps occurs, and failure to comply will result in dismissal without prejudice. National Railroad Passenger Corporation (Amtrak) is not required to answer at this stage.
What happened
In Teri Tkaczyk v. National Railroad Passenger Corporation (Amtrak), the court said Tkaczyk must either pay the required $405 in fees or submit a completed and signed application to proceed without paying the fees upfront. The court found that Tkaczyk’s application was incomplete because it contained no financial information.
The court gave Tkaczyk 30 days from September 2, 2025, to comply or request more time. Until payment or a proper application is received, the case will not move forward, and no summons or answer is required.
Judge Laura Taylor Swain ordered that the case would be dismissed without prejudice if Tkaczyk did not comply or request an extension. The court also denied fee-free status for any appeal from this order.
The detailed version
- Tkaczyk v. National Railroad Passenger Corporation · No. 1:25-cv-06649
- Laura Swain
- Sept. 2, 2025
Background
Teri Tkaczyk submitted this civil action to the court by email. To begin a civil case, a plaintiff must either pay the required fees or request permission to proceed without paying them upfront. Tkaczyk submitted a document titled “Motion To Proceed In Forma Pauperis,” meaning a request to proceed without prepaying court fees, but the document was incomplete and contained no financial information.
Order
The court ordered Tkaczyk, within 30 days of the order, to either pay $405 in fees or complete, sign, and submit the attached amended fee-waiver application. The order states that the $405 consists of a $350 filing fee and a $55 administrative fee, subject to possible updates to the fee schedule.
No further action will be taken in the case, and no summons will issue or answer will be required, until the fees are paid or a completed and signed amended application is received. If Tkaczyk complies, the Clerk’s Office will process the case. If the court grants the application, Tkaczyk may proceed without prepaying the fees.
Disposition
Judge Laura Taylor Swain ordered that the action will be dismissed without prejudice to refiling if Tkaczyk fails to comply within the allowed time or fails to request an extension. The court also certified that an appeal from the order would not be taken in good faith and denied fee-free status for purposes of an appeal.
Classification
This is a procedural order because it addresses the requirements for paying the filing fee or submitting a proper application to proceed without prepayment, rather than deciding the underlying claims.
Read the full 2-page opinion on CourtListener, the free public archive maintained by the Free Law Project.