Love v. Mt. Sinai West Hospital

Background

Vincent E. Love filed this civil action against Mt. Sinai West Hospital and other defendants. He proceeded without a lawyer and asked to proceed without prepaying court fees, a status commonly called proceeding without paying fees based on inability to pay.

Love submitted an application for that status, but the court found it incomplete. The application appeared to state that he was unemployed and had earned $2,000 per month as of October 8, 2019, his last date of employment. He indicated that he received income from a pension, annuity, or life-insurance payments, but did not identify the source or amount. He also left unanswered questions about his bank-account balance, property and other assets, monthly expenses, people he financially supported, and other financial obligations.

Order

The court held that it could not grant Love permission to proceed without prepaying fees because he had not fully answered the application’s questions about his financial status. The court ordered him, within 30 days of the order, either to pay the required $400—identified as a $350 filing fee and a $50 administrative fee—or submit the attached amended application with complete answers. The court stated that Love could be required to pay the fees if it determined that he had the funds to do so.

The court directed the Clerk of Court to assign the matter to the judge’s docket, mail the order to Love, and record service on the docket. No summons was to issue at that time. If Love complied, the action would be processed under the Clerk’s Office procedures; if he failed to comply within the allowed time, the court stated that it would dismiss the action.

Appeal and Disposition

Chief Judge Colleen McMahon certified under 28 U.S.C. § 1915(a)(3) that an appeal from the order would not be taken in good faith. She therefore denied permission to proceed without prepaying fees for purposes of an appeal. The order did not decide the underlying claims against the defendants.