No v. CIA
- Colleen McMahon
- 1:19-cv-11405
- U.S. District Court · Southern District of New York
- 2
In No v. CIA, Chief Judge McMahon ordered payment of fees or a corrected application to proceed without prepayment.
Jeong-Suk No was required to pay $400 in fees or submit a complete amended application to proceed without prepayment; the action would be dismissed if he did not comply within 30 days.
What happened
In Jeong-Suk No v. CIA/FBI/NSA, the plaintiff asked to proceed without paying the court’s fees. The court found that his application did not provide enough information about his income, expenses, or assets.
The court ordered the plaintiff, within 30 days, either to pay $400 in fees or submit a signed amended application answering every question and explaining his finances. If he did not comply, the action would be dismissed.
Chief Judge Colleen McMahon also ruled that any appeal from this order would not be taken in good faith and denied permission to proceed without prepaying appeal fees.
The detailed version
- No v. CIA · No. 1:19-cv-11405
- Colleen McMahon
- Jan. 2, 2020
Background
Jeong-Suk No brought the action without a lawyer. The court explained that a person bringing a civil action must either pay $400 in filing and administrative fees or submit a signed application to proceed without prepaying those fees, commonly called an IFP application.
No submitted an IFP application, but the court found that his answers did not establish that he could not afford the fees. Although he stated that he was unemployed, he did not answer questions about his income and financial situation. The court therefore could not determine whether he had enough funds to pay.
Order
The court ordered No, within 30 days of the order, to do one of two things: pay the $400 in fees or submit an amended IFP application. The amended application had to use docket number 19-CV-11405 (CM), answer every question, identify all sources of income and monthly expenses, describe any assets, and explain how he supported himself. If the court granted the amended application, No would be allowed to proceed without prepaying the fees.
The court stated that the action would be dismissed if No 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 IFP status for purposes of an appeal. Chief Judge Colleen McMahon directed the Clerk of Court to assign the matter to her docket, mail the order to No, and record service on the docket.
Read the full 2-page opinion on CourtListener, the free public archive maintained by the Free Law Project.