Ward v. Lawrence
- Jon Tigar
- 4:19-cv-00183
- U.S. District Court · Northern District of California
- 2
In Ward v. Lawrence, Judge Tigar found the plaintiffs’ appeal frivolous and ruled that their fee-free status should not continue.
Anjali Ward and Lila Cast, whose fee-free status on appeal the court determined should not continue; the order was also sent to the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals.
What happened
Ward v. Lawrence concerns Anjali Ward and Lila Cast’s request to appeal without paying filing fees. The Ninth Circuit asked the district court to decide whether that status should continue or whether the appeal was frivolous or brought in bad faith.
The district court found that the appeal had no arguable basis in fact or law and was therefore not brought in good faith. It ruled that the plaintiffs’ fee-free status should not continue for the appeal and directed the clerk to send the order to the Ninth Circuit.
Judge Jon S. Tigar issued the order on August 11, 2023. The ruling followed the court’s earlier dismissal of the case after the plaintiffs did not file a required amended complaint.
The detailed version
- Ward v. Lawrence · No. 4:19-cv-00183
- Jon Tigar
- Aug. 11, 2023
Background
Anjali Ward and Lila Cast filed a motion to proceed without paying court fees on appeal. The Ninth Circuit referred the matter to the district court for the limited purpose of deciding whether that status should continue or whether the appeal was frivolous or brought in bad faith.
Before the appeal, the district court had dismissed the plaintiffs’ second amended complaint while allowing them to amend certain claims. The court later dismissed the case for failure to prosecute after the plaintiffs did not file a third amended complaint.
Ruling
Under 28 U.S.C. § 1915(a)(3), a person may not proceed without paying court fees on appeal if the trial court certifies in writing that the appeal was not brought in good faith. The district court determined that the plaintiffs’ appeal was frivolous because it had no arguable basis in fact or law. It therefore determined that the appeal was not taken in good faith and that the plaintiffs’ fee-free status should not continue for this appeal.
The clerk was directed to transmit a copy of the order to the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals.
Read the full 2-page opinion on CourtListener, the free public archive maintained by the Free Law Project.