Thigpen v. Local 807 Labor Management Pension Fund
- Louis Stanton
- 1:19-cv-10518
- U.S. District Court · Southern District of New York
- 2
In Thigpen v. Local 807 Labor Management Pension Fund, Chief Judge McMahon ordered payment of fees or an IFP application within thirty days.
Angela Thigpen, who was required to pay the fees or submit an application to proceed without prepaying them if she intended to pursue a new action; the defendants were affected by the possible continuation of the case.
What happened
In Thigpen v. Local 807 Labor Management Pension Fund, Angela Thigpen submitted a complaint and request for counsel without paying filing fees or submitting an application to proceed without prepaying them. Her submissions listed the docket number of an earlier case involving the same defendants and claims in the Eastern District of New York, and the court said it was unclear whether she intended to file a new case.
The court directed that, if Thigpen intended to pursue a new case in the Southern District of New York, she must pay $400 in fees or submit a signed application to proceed without prepaying fees within thirty days. The application had to identify this case's docket number. No summons would issue at that time.
Chief Judge Colleen McMahon ordered the Clerk to assign the matter, mail the order to Thigpen, and record service. The court stated that failure to comply would result in dismissal of the action, and denied permission to appeal without prepaying fees.
The detailed version
- Thigpen v. Local 807 Labor Management Pension Fund · No. 1:19-cv-10518
- Louis Stanton
- Nov. 19, 2019
Background
Angela Thigpen, representing herself, submitted a complaint and a request for appointment of counsel. Both submissions listed docket number 18-CV-00162, but the court stated that Thigpen was not a party to a case with that number in the Southern District of New York. The court reviewed the federal court records and found an earlier related case in the Eastern District of New York involving the same defendants and claims. That earlier case had been resolved by summary judgment for a defendant, dismissal of the action, and an award of $100 in attorney fees; Thigpen had filed a notice of appeal.
The complaint in this case was signed on November 5, 2019. Because Thigpen mailed it to the Southern District of New York with the Eastern District docket number and without paying fees or submitting an application to proceed without prepaying fees, the court said it was unclear whether she intended to start a new action in that court.
Order
The court directed that, if Thigpen intended to file a new action, she had to either pay $400 in fees—a $350 filing fee and a $50 administrative fee—or submit a signed application to proceed without prepaying fees within thirty days of the order. The court referred to this application as an application for permission to proceed without prepayment of fees and instructed that it identify docket number 19-CV-10518 (CM). If the court granted the application, Thigpen would be allowed to proceed without prepaying fees.
The Clerk was directed to assign the matter to Judge Colleen McMahon, mail the order to Thigpen, and note service on the docket. No summons was to issue at that time. The court stated that compliance would allow the case to be processed under the Clerk's Office procedures, while failure to comply within the allowed period would result in dismissal of the action.
The court also certified that an appeal from the order would not be taken in good faith and denied permission to appeal without prepaying fees. The opinion does not state that the court decided the merits of Thigpen's claims.
Read the full 2-page opinion on CourtListener, the free public archive maintained by the Free Law Project.