Levy v. Baruch College

Background

Fred Levy filed this action without a lawyer and asked to proceed without paying court fees upfront, a status called in forma pauperis. The court directed him to submit an amended application because he had not fully answered the financial questions or explained how he paid his living expenses. After Levy submitted an amended application that still left many questions unanswered, the court denied his request to proceed without prepaying fees and ordered him to pay $400 within 30 days.

Levy then submitted two letters arguing that the court lacked authority to deny him the ability to proceed without prepaying fees. The court treated those letters as a request to reconsider the order requiring payment. The court explained that a person seeking this fee waiver must show an inability to pay and that it may dismiss a case if an allegation of poverty is untrue. It also noted that Levy's applications used answers such as “private” or “not relevant” for many financial questions, making it impossible to determine whether he could pay. The court said it was unclear whether Levy did not understand the need to provide the information or was deliberately hiding income.

Ruling

Rather than dismissing the action at this stage, the court gave Levy another opportunity because he was representing himself. Within 30 days of the order, he had to either pay the $400 filing fee or submit a second amended fee-waiver application. The application had to answer every question, identify all income sources and monthly expenses, and explain how he supported himself. The order stated that the action would be dismissed if he failed to comply and that, if the new application were granted, he could proceed without prepaying fees. The court also certified that any appeal from this order would not be taken in good faith and denied fee-waiver status for an appeal.