Johnson v. City of New York
- Vernon Broderick
- 1:19-cv-09664
- U.S. District Court · Southern District of New York
- 2
In Johnson v. City of New York, Judge McMahon required Glenn Johnson to pay $400 or amend his fee-waiver application.
Glenn Johnson, who was required to pay the case-opening fees or submit a complete amended application to proceed without prepaying them.
What happened
In Johnson v. City of New York, Glenn Johnson sued the City of New York and other defendants and asked to proceed without paying court fees upfront.
Johnson stated that he was unemployed and received Social Security disability benefits, but his application did not fully answer questions about his income, assets, expenses, dependents, and debts. He also did not explain how he was paying his expenses.
Judge Colleen McMahon did not grant the fee waiver at that time. She ordered Johnson, within 30 days, either to pay $400 or submit a complete amended application; no summons would issue yet, and the court said it would dismiss the action if he did not comply.
The detailed version
- Johnson v. City of New York · No. 1:19-cv-09664
- Vernon Broderick
- Nov. 20, 2019
Background
Glenn Johnson brought this action against the City of New York and other defendants. He proceeded without a lawyer and asked to proceed without paying the fees required to start a civil case. The opinion does not describe the underlying claims.
Issue
The court considered whether Johnson had provided enough financial information to qualify for permission to proceed without prepaying the filing and administrative fees. The court stated that starting a civil action required either paying $400 or submitting an application to proceed without prepayment of fees.
Johnson's application stated that he was unemployed and received Social Security disability benefits. But he marked that he had no income from several listed sources, including Social Security benefits, and did not explain how he paid his expenses. He also left unanswered questions about bank-account funds, other assets, housing and other monthly expenses, debts, financial support for other people, and other financial obligations.
Ruling
The court did not grant Johnson permission to proceed without prepaying fees at that time. It ordered him, within 30 days of the order, to either pay $400 or submit an amended application fully answering all questions and disclosing his financial status. If the court determined that he had the funds to pay the fees, it could require payment.
The court directed the Clerk of Court to assign the matter to the judge's docket, mail the order to Johnson, and record service. No summons would issue at that time. If Johnson complied, the action would be processed under the Clerk's Office procedures; if he did not comply within the allowed time, the court would dismiss the action.
The court also certified that any appeal would not be taken in good faith and denied permission to proceed without prepaying fees for an appeal.
Read the full 2-page opinion on CourtListener, the free public archive maintained by the Free Law Project.