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S.D.N.Y.Procedural orderFiled Mar. 9, 2020

Williams v. New York State Unified Court System

Judge
Colleen McMahon
Docket
1:20-cv-00331
Court
U.S. District Court · Southern District of New York
Pages
1
Civil Procedure
In one sentence

Williams v. New York State Unified Court System: Judge McMahon dismissed the complaint without prejudice because Williams neither paid the filing fee nor submitted required forms.

Who this affects

Kaseem Williams's complaint was dismissed without prejudice for failure to pay the filing fee or submit the required forms. His request to appeal without paying fees was also denied. The opinion does not address the merits of his claims against the New York State Unified Court System or the other defendants.

What happened

In Williams v. New York State Unified Court System, the court ordered Kaseem Williams to submit forms requesting permission to proceed without paying the filing fee, provide prisoner authorization, or pay the required $400 fee.

Williams did none of those things within the time allowed. The court therefore dismissed the complaint without prejudice, meaning the dismissal did not bar refiling.

Judge McMahon also denied Williams permission to appeal without paying fees, finding that an appeal would not be taken in good faith.

The detailed version

For law students, journalists, and other readers who want the full reasoning

Case
Williams v. New York State Unified Court System · No. 1:20-cv-00331
Judge
Colleen McMahon
Date
Mar. 9, 2020

Background

On January 16, 2020, the court directed Kaseem Williams, within 30 days, either to submit a completed application to proceed without paying the filing fee and a prisoner authorization or to pay the $400 filing fee required for a civil action. The order warned that failure to comply would result in dismissal of the complaint.

Ruling

Williams did not submit the application or prisoner authorization and did not pay the filing fee. The court dismissed the complaint without prejudice under 28 U.S.C. §§ 1914 and 1915.

Appeal-Fee Ruling and Effect

The court certified under 28 U.S.C. § 1915(a)(3) that any appeal from the order would not be taken in good faith. It therefore denied Williams permission to appeal without paying the required fees. The clerk was directed to mail Williams a copy of the order and record service on the docket.

The authoritative version

Read the full 1-page opinion on CourtListener, the free public archive maintained by the Free Law Project.

Open opinion PDF →
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