Johnson v. Morris
- Laura Swain
- 1:25-cv-07696
- U.S. District Court · Southern District of New York
- 2
In Sterling L. Johnson v. Gray Morris, Judge Swain ordered Johnson to pay $405 or request permission to proceed without prepaying fees within 30 days.
Sterling L. Johnson must either pay $405 or submit a signed application to proceed without prepaying fees within 30 days. The action will be dismissed if he does not comply, and summonses will not issue at this time.
What happened
In Sterling L. Johnson v. Gray Morris, Sterling L. Johnson filed a civil action without paying the required fees or submitting an application to proceed without prepaying them. He is representing himself.
The court gave Johnson 30 days from the order date to pay $405 or submit a signed application for permission to proceed without prepaying fees. No summons will issue yet. If he does not comply on time, the action will be dismissed.
Judge Laura Taylor Swain also ruled that any appeal from this order would not be taken in good faith and denied permission to appeal without prepaying fees.
The detailed version
- Johnson v. Morris · No. 1:25-cv-07696
- Laura Swain
- Sept. 17, 2025
Background
Sterling L. Johnson brought this civil action without a lawyer. He submitted the complaint without paying the required filing and administrative fees and without submitting an application to proceed without prepaying fees.
Order
The court ordered Johnson, within 30 days of the order, to either pay $405 in fees—$350 for the filing fee and $55 for the administrative fee—or submit a signed application to proceed without prepaying fees. If the court grants the application, Johnson may proceed without paying the fees in advance. The application should identify docket number 25-CV-7696 (LTS).
No summons will issue at this time. If Johnson complies, the case will be processed under the Clerk’s Office procedures. If he does not comply within the time allowed, the action will be dismissed.
Appeal ruling
The court certified that an appeal from this order would not be taken in good faith and denied permission to appeal without prepaying fees. 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.