Tahatan-Bey v. The Estate of Kevin Paul Woodruff
- Saundra Armstrong
- 4:21-cv-02145
- U.S. District Court · Northern District of California
- 2
Tahatan-Bey v. Woodruff: Judge Corley recommended dismissal without prejudice because the plaintiff neither paid the filing fee nor requested fee assistance.
Wanag Tahatan-Bey, whose action was recommended for dismissal without prejudice because he had not paid the required filing fee or filed a request to proceed without paying it. The dismissal recommendation was subject to review by a district judge.
What happened
In Wanag Tahatan-Bey v. The Estate of Kevin Paul Woodruff et al., the plaintiff filed a certified foreign judgment, and the court reclassified the matter as a civil case. The court told him to pay a $402 filing fee or ask to proceed without paying it.
The plaintiff did neither. Because the parties had not agreed to have a magistrate judge handle the case, the clerk was ordered to reassign it to a district judge.
The opinion recommended that the district judge dismiss the action without prejudice for failure to pay the required fee. The recommendation was issued by Magistrate Judge Jacqueline Scott Corley, and the parties were allowed 14 days to object.
The detailed version
- Tahatan-Bey v. The Estate of Kevin Paul Woodruff · No. 4:21-cv-02145
- Saundra Armstrong
- Sept. 10, 2021
Background
Wanag Tahatan-Bey began the matter by filing a document titled “Consensual Decree Order Certified Foreign Judgment.” The court initially classified the matter as a miscellaneous case, then reclassified it as a civil case. After the reclassification, the court notified Tahatan-Bey that the required filing fee was $402.
On June 4, 2021, the court ordered Tahatan-Bey either to pay the filing fee or to file a request to proceed without paying it. The order also directed him to the Northern District of California’s Legal Help Center for free assistance. As of the date of this opinion, he had done neither.
Reassignment and Recommended Disposition
Because the parties had not consented to the court’s jurisdiction, the clerk was ordered to reassign the case to a district judge. The magistrate judge did not enter a final dismissal. Instead, the opinion recommended that the district judge dismiss the action without prejudice for failure to pay the required filing fee.
Any party could object to the recommendation within 14 days after being served. The opinion states that failing to object within that period could waive the right to appeal the district court’s ultimate order.
Judge
The order was issued by United States Magistrate Judge Jacqueline Scott Corley on September 10, 2021.
Read the full 2-page opinion on CourtListener, the free public archive maintained by the Free Law Project.