Kilpatrick v. Hochul
- Laura Swain
- 1:25-cv-06672
- U.S. District Court · Southern District of New York
- 2
In Gregory D. Kilpatrick v. Kathy Hochul, Judge Swain ordered $405 in checks returned after dismissing the action because Kilpatrick sought a fee waiver without required permission.
Gregory D. Kilpatrick and the Finance Department; the order directs the department to return Kilpatrick’s two checks totaling $405.
What happened
Gregory D. Kilpatrick sued Kathy Hochul and other defendants and filed a complaint with an application to avoid paying the filing fee. A prior court order barred him from filing new cases without paying the fee unless he first received permission to proceed without payment. The court said he did not obtain that permission.
The court had already dismissed the action on August 21, 2025, and the Clerk entered a civil judgment the next day. The Finance Department had received one $405 personal check and later received two checks totaling $405, but the first check was returned because personal checks were not accepted for fees. Because the case was closed, the court ordered the two later checks returned.
Chief United States District Judge Laura Taylor Swain ordered the Finance Department to return the two checks totaling $405. She also certified that an appeal from this order would not be taken in good faith and denied permission to appeal without paying the required fees.
The detailed version
- Kilpatrick v. Hochul · No. 1:25-cv-06672
- Laura Swain
- Sept. 2, 2025
Background
Gregory D. Kilpatrick filed this action with a complaint and an application to proceed without paying the filing fee. The opinion states that an earlier order barred Kilpatrick from filing any new action without paying the filing fee unless he first obtained court permission to proceed without payment. The court had dismissed this action on August 21, 2025, because Kilpatrick did not seek that permission. The Clerk entered a civil judgment on August 22, 2025.
Checks and Court Order
The Finance Department received a $405 personal check from Kilpatrick on August 12, 2025, but returned it because the Clerk’s Office does not accept personal checks for fee payments. On August 28, 2025, the Finance Department received two checks totaling $405. Because the action was closed, the court directed the Finance Department to return those two checks. The court stated that, if Kilpatrick seeks to bring the action by paying the fees, he must include proper payment with his complaint.
Disposition
The court directed the Finance Department to return the two checks totaling $405 received on August 28, 2025. It also certified under 28 U.S.C. § 1915(a)(3) that an appeal from this order would not be taken in good faith and denied permission to appeal without paying the required fees. Chief United States District Judge Laura Taylor Swain signed the order.
Read the full 2-page opinion on CourtListener, the free public archive maintained by the Free Law Project.