Pacheco v. 30th Precinct
- Colleen McMahon
- 1:19-cv-11915
- U.S. District Court · Southern District of New York
- 2
In Pacheco v. 30th Precinct, Judge McMahon ordered payment of fees or a corrected application to proceed without prepaying them.
Rodolfo Pacheco must either pay the $400 required fees or submit a complete amended application to proceed without prepaying them within 30 days. The case may be dismissed if he does not comply.
What happened
Rodolfo Pacheco, who is representing himself, sued the 30th Precinct and other defendants. He submitted an application asking to proceed without prepaying the fees required to start a civil case.
The court found that Pacheco did not provide enough information about his income, expenses, assets, or how he supports himself to show that he cannot pay the fees.
Judge Colleen McMahon ordered Pacheco, within 30 days, either to pay $400 or submit a complete amended application. If he does not comply, the action will be dismissed; the court also denied permission to proceed without prepaying fees for any appeal from this order.
The detailed version
- Pacheco v. 30th Precinct · No. 1:19-cv-11915
- Colleen McMahon
- Jan. 16, 2020
Background
Rodolfo Pacheco brought this civil action without a lawyer. Under 28 U.S.C. §§ 1914 and 1915, a plaintiff must either pay the filing and administrative fees or submit a signed application to proceed in forma pauperis, meaning without prepaying those fees.
Pacheco submitted an application to proceed without prepaying fees. He stated that he was not employed, but he did not answer questions about his income and financial situation. The court therefore could not determine that he lacked enough funds to pay the required fees.
Order
The court ordered Pacheco, within 30 days of the order, either to pay $400 in fees or submit an amended application. The amended application must answer every question, identify all sources of income and monthly expenses, describe any assets, and explain how Pacheco supports himself. It must also include docket number 19-CV-11915 (CM). If the court grants the amended application, Pacheco may proceed without prepaying the fees.
The order did not dismiss the action immediately. It stated that the action will be dismissed if Pacheco fails to comply within the allowed time. The Clerk of Court was directed to mail Pacheco a copy of the order and record service on the docket. The court also certified that an appeal from the order would not be taken in good faith and denied permission to proceed without prepaying fees for purposes of an appeal.
Judge
Chief United States District Judge Colleen McMahon issued the order.
Read the full 2-page opinion on CourtListener, the free public archive maintained by the Free Law Project.