Gaskey v. Donald John Trump
- Laura Swain
- 1:25-cv-07011
- U.S. District Court · Southern District of New York
- 2
In Camilla Gaskey v. Donald John Trump, Chief Judge Swain ordered Gaskey to pay fees or submit an IFP application.
Camilla Gaskey must either pay the $405 in court fees or submit a signed IFP application within 30 days of the September 26, 2025 order. The case will be dismissed if she does not comply; the opinion does not resolve the claims against the defendants.
What happened
Camilla Gaskey sued Donald John Trump and other defendants without a lawyer, but she submitted her complaint without paying the required fees or submitting an application to proceed without paying them upfront.
The court gave Gaskey 30 days from September 26, 2025, to pay $405 or submit a signed application to proceed without prepayment. No summons will issue at this time, and the action will be dismissed if she does not comply.
Chief United States District Judge Laura Taylor Swain also ruled that an appeal would not be taken in good faith and denied permission to proceed without prepaying fees for any appeal.
The detailed version
- Gaskey v. Donald John Trump · No. 1:25-cv-07011
- Laura Swain
- Sept. 26, 2025
Background
Camilla Gaskey brought this action pro se, meaning without a lawyer. The opinion does not describe the underlying claims against Donald John Trump and the other defendants. Gaskey submitted the complaint without paying the required filing fees and without an application to proceed in forma pauperis (IFP), which means proceeding without prepaying court fees.
Order
The court stated that a civil-action plaintiff must either pay $405 in fees—$350 for filing and $55 for administration—or submit a signed IFP application. The court ordered Gaskey, within 30 days of the order, to do one of those two things. If she submits the application, it must identify docket number 25-CV-7011 (LTS). If the court grants the application, she may proceed without prepaying the fees.
No summons will issue at this time. The case will be processed under the Clerk’s Office procedures if Gaskey complies with the order. If she does not comply within the allowed time, the action will be dismissed. The order does not decide the merits of Gaskey’s claims.
Appeal-related ruling
Judge Laura Taylor Swain certified under 28 U.S.C. § 1915(a)(3) that any appeal from the order would not be taken in good faith. The court therefore denied IFP status for purposes of an appeal.
Read the full 2-page opinion on CourtListener, the free public archive maintained by the Free Law Project.