Honda v. Vieira

Background

Marcal Honda brought the action pro se, meaning without a lawyer. The court explained that a person starting a civil action must either pay $400 in fees—a $350 filing fee and a $50 administrative fee—or submit a complete and signed application to proceed without paying those fees upfront.

Honda submitted an application asking to proceed without prepaying the fees. The court stated that his answers did not establish that he was unable to pay. The application said that Honda was employed and earned $2,500 per month, and it did not answer many of the questions on the form.

Court’s action

The court said it was unable to grant Honda’s application in its current form. It ordered Honda, within 30 days of the order, either to pay the $400 in fees or to submit an amended application. The amended application had to address the identified deficiencies and provide facts showing that Honda could not pay the fees.

The court directed the Clerk of Court to assign the matter to Judge McMahon’s docket, mail Honda a copy of the order, and record service on the docket. No summons was to issue at that time. The court stated that the action would be dismissed if Honda did not comply within the allowed time. It also certified that an appeal from the order would not be taken in good faith and denied fee-waiver status for an appeal.