Watkins v. Leak & Watts
- Colleen McMahon
- 1:20-cv-00569
- U.S. District Court · Southern District of New York
- 2
In Watkins v. Leak & Watts, Judge McMahon ordered Watkins to pay $400 or submit a complete application to proceed without paying upfront.
Nikita Zanita Watkins, the unrepresented plaintiff; the action could be dismissed if she did not pay the fees or submit an adequate amended application within 30 days.
What happened
In Watkins v. Leak & Watts, Nikita Zanita Watkins filed the action without a lawyer and asked to proceed without paying the court’s fees upfront. She stated that she was unemployed and had no income, but she did not answer questions about her living expenses.
The court said it could not determine whether Watkins was unable to pay because her application lacked enough financial information. It gave her 30 days to either pay $400 in filing and administrative fees or submit a completed application addressing the missing information.
Judge Colleen McMahon directed the Clerk to mail the order to Watkins, issued no summons at that time, and stated that the action would be dismissed if Watkins did not comply. The court also denied permission to appeal without paying fees.
The detailed version
- Watkins v. Leak & Watts · No. 1:20-cv-00569
- Colleen McMahon
- Jan. 23, 2020
Background
Nikita Zanita Watkins brought this action without a lawyer. To proceed in the Southern District of New York, she had to either pay $400 in fees—$350 for filing and $50 for administration—or submit a signed application to proceed without prepaying fees.
Watkins submitted an application to proceed without prepaying fees, but the court found it insufficient. She stated that she was not employed and had no income source, but she did not answer the application’s questions about her living expenses. The court therefore could not determine whether she had enough money to pay the fees.
Order
The court ordered Watkins, within 30 days of the order, to do one of two things: pay the $400 in fees or submit an amended application answering all questions and providing facts showing that she could not pay. If the court granted the amended application, Watkins would be allowed to proceed without prepaying the fees.
The Clerk was directed to mail Watkins a copy of the order and record service on the docket. No summons was to issue at that time. The court stated that the action would be processed under the Clerk’s Office procedures if Watkins complied and would be dismissed if she did not comply within the permitted time.
Judge Colleen McMahon also certified that an appeal from the order would not be taken in good faith and denied permission to appeal without prepaying fees. The order did not decide the merits of Watkins’s claims against Leak & Watts or the other defendants.
Read the full 2-page opinion on CourtListener, the free public archive maintained by the Free Law Project.