Cellante v. Murray
- Laura Swain
- 1:25-cv-09290
- U.S. District Court · Southern District of New York
- 2
In Cellante v. Murray, Judge Swain ordered payment of fees or an application to proceed without prepayment.
Mike Cellante must either pay $405 in fees or submit a signed application to proceed without prepayment within 30 days. The case will not be processed or have a summons issued unless he complies, and the action will be dismissed if he does not comply.
What happened
In Mike Cellante v. Christopher Murray, Richard Chulla, and Union Hose Engine Co. #2, Mike Cellante filed the case without paying the required fees or submitting an application to proceed without prepayment. The court noted that Cellante is representing himself.
The court gave Cellante 30 days to pay $405 in fees or submit a signed application requesting permission to proceed without prepayment. No summons will issue yet, and the case will be processed if he complies; if he does not, 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 proceed without prepayment for purposes of an appeal.
The detailed version
- Cellante v. Murray · No. 1:25-cv-09290
- Laura Swain
- Nov. 7, 2025
Order and background
Mike Cellante brought the action without a lawyer. He submitted a complaint but did not pay the required fees and did not submit an application to proceed without prepayment. The court explained that the fees are $405: a $350 filing fee and a $55 administrative fee.
Required action
The court ordered Cellante, within 30 days of the order, to either pay the $405 in fees or submit a signed application to proceed in forma pauperis (without prepaying the fees). If the court grants that application, Cellante may proceed without prepaying the fees. The application should identify docket number 25-CV-9290 (LTS).
Effect of the order
No summons will issue at this time. If Cellante complies, the Clerk’s Office will process the case under its procedures. If he does not comply within the permitted time, the action will be dismissed. The order does not decide the underlying claims against the defendants.
Appeal-related ruling
Chief United States District Judge Laura Taylor Swain certified that an appeal from this order would not be taken in good faith and denied permission to proceed in forma pauperis for purposes of an appeal.
Read the full 2-page opinion on CourtListener, the free public archive maintained by the Free Law Project.