Avent v. Unknown Charity Ass. Att. Generals
- Colleen McMahon
- 1:19-cv-10923
- U.S. District Court · Southern District of New York
- 2
In Avent v. James, Judge McMahon ordered Reuben Avent to pay fees or submit a complete application to proceed without prepayment.
Reuben Avent, who was required to pay the filing fees or submit a complete amended application to proceed without paying them upfront.
What happened
In Reuben Avent v. NYS ATT GEN. Letitia James, the pro se plaintiff asked to proceed without paying the court’s fees upfront.
The court found his application incomplete because his reported income and expenses did not fully explain his financial circumstances. The order gave him 30 days to pay $400 or submit a complete amended application. No summons would issue at that time.
Judge Colleen McMahon warned that failing to comply would result in dismissal without prejudice, meaning Avent could refile. She also denied fee-free status for any appeal from the order.
The detailed version
- Avent v. Unknown Charity Ass. Att. Generals · No. 1:19-cv-10923
- Colleen McMahon
- Nov. 27, 2019
Background
Reuben Avent brought the action without a lawyer. To proceed in federal court, he had to either pay $400 in fees or submit a complete application asking to proceed without paying the fees upfront.
Avent submitted an application, but the court found it incomplete. He reported that he had been unemployed since July 2019 and received $244 per week in unemployment insurance. He also reported paying $6,000 per month for a Mercedes Benz 250 car loan and having monthly expenses of $7,000. The court stated that he had not fully explained his financial circumstances.
Order
The court directed Avent, within 30 days of the order, to do one of two things: pay the $400 in fees or submit an amended application that answered all questions about his income and expenses. The amended application had to include docket number 19-CV-10923 (CM). The court directed the Clerk of Court to assign the matter to Judge McMahon’s docket, mail the order to Avent, and record service on the docket. No summons would issue at that time.
If Avent failed to comply within the allowed time, the action would be dismissed without prejudice to refiling. The court also certified that an appeal from the order would not be taken in good faith and denied fee-free status for purposes of an appeal. Judge Colleen McMahon entered the order.
Read the full 2-page opinion on CourtListener, the free public archive maintained by the Free Law Project.