Pinero v. Burlington Coat Factory Warehouse Corporation

Background

Daisy Y. Pinero brought the action without a lawyer and asked to proceed without paying the filing fees, a status commonly called proceeding without prepayment of fees. The court explained that filing a civil action required either payment of $400—$350 for the filing fee and $50 for the administrative fee—or a signed application requesting permission to proceed without prepayment under 28 U.S.C. §§ 1914 and 1915.

Pinero submitted an outdated version of the court’s application. She stated that she was unemployed and had no other income, and she listed monthly expenses including rent, credit-card payments, and student-loan debt. She did not explain how she was paying those expenses or meeting her other financial obligations.

Court’s Action

The court held that it could not grant Pinero’s fee-waiver request at that time. It ordered her, within 30 days of the order, either to pay the $400 in required fees or submit the attached amended application with a full disclosure of her financial status, including how she was paying her bills and meeting her monthly obligations. The court stated that, if it granted the amended application, Pinero could proceed without prepaying fees.

The court directed the clerk to mail Pinero a copy of the order and record service on the docket. No summons was to issue at that time. If Pinero complied, the case would be processed under the clerk’s procedures; if she did not comply within the allowed time, the court stated that it would dismiss the action.

Appeal and Disposition

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 and denied permission to proceed without prepaying fees for an appeal. The order therefore required payment or an amended fee-waiver application; it did not decide the underlying claims against the defendants.