Sanchez v. Miller
- Colleen McMahon
- 1:20-cv-00620
- U.S. District Court · Southern District of New York
- 2
In Sanchez v. Miller, Judge McMahon ordered payment or a fee-waiver application from Tianna S. Sanchez within 30 days, or dismissal as a party.
Matthew Sanchez and Tianna S. Sanchez, particularly Tianna S. Sanchez because the order required her to submit a signed fee-waiver application or face dismissal as a party.
What happened
In Sanchez v. Miller, Matthew Sanchez and Tianna S. Sanchez brought the action without lawyers and asked to proceed without paying court fees upfront. The court received no fee-waiver application from Tianna S. Sanchez.
The court ordered the plaintiffs, within 30 days, either to pay $400 in fees or have Tianna S. Sanchez complete and sign the required application. No summons would be issued at that time.
Judge Colleen McMahon stated that Tianna S. Sanchez would be dismissed as a party if she did not comply. The court also denied permission to appeal without paying fees, finding that any appeal would not be taken in good faith.
The detailed version
- Sanchez v. Miller · No. 1:20-cv-00620
- Colleen McMahon
- Feb. 4, 2020
Background
Matthew Sanchez and Tianna S. Sanchez filed the action without lawyers and requested permission to proceed without paying court fees upfront. The complaint did not include a completed and signed fee-waiver application from Tianna S. Sanchez.
Order
The court explained that each plaintiff had to either pay the required $400 in fees—$350 for filing and $50 for administration—or submit a signed application to proceed without prepaying fees. Within 30 days, the plaintiffs were ordered to pay the fees or have Tianna S. Sanchez fully complete and sign the attached application, identifying docket number 20-CV-0620 (CM). The court did not grant the application in this order; it stated that, if the application were granted, the plaintiffs could proceed without prepaying fees.
The court directed the clerk to mail a copy of the order to a plaintiff and record service on the docket. No summons was to issue at that time. If Tianna S. Sanchez failed to comply within the allowed period, the court stated that she would be dismissed as a party.
Appeal-related ruling
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 appeal without paying fees. The opinion does not state that the court decided the underlying claims.
Read the full 2-page opinion on CourtListener, the free public archive maintained by the Free Law Project.