Elliot v. Doe
- Laura Swain
- 1:25-cv-06785
- U.S. District Court · Southern District of New York
- 1
In Devon Elliot v. Doe, Chief Judge Swain dismissed the complaint without prejudice after Elliot neither submitted the required forms nor paid filing fees.
Devon Elliot’s complaint was dismissed without prejudice because he did not submit the required filing-fee forms and authorization or pay the $405 filing fee. The order also denied permission to proceed without paying fees for an appeal.
What happened
In Devon Elliot v. Doe, the court had ordered Elliot to submit an application to proceed without paying the filing fees, a required prisoner authorization, or the $405 filing fee. The order warned that failing to do so would lead to dismissal.
Elliot did not submit the application and authorization or pay the fee. The court therefore dismissed the complaint without prejudice, meaning the order did not bar refiling. The opinion does not describe the complaint’s underlying claims.
Chief United States District Judge Laura Taylor Swain also ruled that any appeal would not be taken in good faith and denied permission to proceed without paying appellate fees. The clerk was directed to enter judgment.
The detailed version
- Elliot v. Doe · No. 1:25-cv-06785
- Laura Swain
- Oct. 27, 2025
Background
On August 27, 2025, the court ordered Devon Elliot to do one of the following within 30 days: submit a completed application to proceed without paying the filing fee and a prisoner authorization, or pay the $405 required to file a civil action. The order stated that failure to comply would result in dismissal of the complaint.
Ruling
Elliot did not submit the application and prisoner authorization and did not pay the filing fees. Chief United States District Judge Laura Taylor Swain dismissed the complaint without prejudice under 28 U.S.C. §§ 1914 and 1915. The opinion does not address the merits of Elliot’s claims.
The court certified under 28 U.S.C. § 1915(a)(3) that any appeal would not be taken in good faith and denied permission to proceed without paying fees for an appeal. The court directed the clerk to enter judgment.
Read the full 1-page opinion on CourtListener, the free public archive maintained by the Free Law Project.