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S.D.N.Y.Procedural orderFiled Sept. 5, 2025

The Estate of William Scales v. Amalgamated Transit Union

Judge
Laura Swain
Docket
1:25-cv-06074
Court
U.S. District Court · Southern District of New York
Pages
1
Civil Procedure
In one sentence

In The Estate of William Scales v. Amalgamated Transit Union, Judge Swain dismissed the complaint without prejudice after plaintiff neither paid the filing fee nor sought a fee waiver.

Who this affects

The Estate of William Scales's complaint was dismissed without prejudice for failing to pay the filing fee or submit an application to proceed without paying it. The order also denied permission to appeal without paying fees.

What happened

The Estate of William Scales sued Amalgamated Transit Union in the Southern District of New York.

The court had ordered the plaintiff to pay the $405 filing fee or submit an application to proceed without paying it. The plaintiff did neither within the required 30 days.

Judge Laura Taylor Swain dismissed the complaint without prejudice and directed the clerk to enter judgment. She also denied the plaintiff permission to appeal without paying fees because the court certified that an appeal would not be taken in good faith.

The detailed version

For law students, journalists, and other readers who want the full reasoning

Case
The Estate of William Scales v. Amalgamated Transit Union · No. 1:25-cv-06074
Judge
Laura Swain
Date
Sept. 5, 2025

Background

The court had previously ordered the plaintiff, within 30 days, either to pay the $405 fee required to file a civil action or submit an application to proceed without paying the filing fee. The order warned that failure to comply would result in dismissal of the complaint.

The plaintiff did not pay the filing fee and did not submit the application.

Ruling

The court dismissed the complaint without prejudice under 28 U.S.C. §§ 1914 and 1915. This means the dismissal did not bar refiling, although the opinion does not address any possible future filing.

Judge Laura Taylor Swain certified that an appeal would not be taken in good faith and denied permission to appeal without paying fees. The court also directed the clerk to enter judgment.

The authoritative version

Read the full 1-page opinion on CourtListener, the free public archive maintained by the Free Law Project.

Open opinion PDF →
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