Modu v. Notorious B.I.G. LLC
- Louis Stanton
- 1:20-cv-02453
- U.S. District Court · Southern District of New York
- 2
In Modu v. Notorious Big, LLC, Judge McMahon ordered Chi Modu to pay fees or submit an application to proceed without prepayment.
Chi Modu was required to pay the filing fees or submit an application to proceed without prepayment within 30 days. The case had not yet proceeded to summons or a decision on the claims against Notorious Big, LLC, or the other defendants.
What happened
In Modu v. Notorious Big, LLC, Chi Modu brought the action without a lawyer but did not submit the required fees or an application to proceed without prepayment of fees.
The court gave Modu 30 days to pay $400 in fees or submit a signed application. The court said no summons would issue yet and warned that the action would be dismissed if Modu did not comply.
Judge Colleen McMahon also ruled that any appeal from this order would not be taken in good faith and denied permission to proceed without prepaying fees for an appeal.
The detailed version
- Modu v. Notorious B.I.G. LLC · No. 1:20-cv-02453
- Louis Stanton
- Mar. 23, 2020
Background
Chi Modu filed this civil action without a lawyer. The complaint was submitted without the $400 required fees—$350 for filing and $50 for administration—and without an application asking to proceed without prepaying those fees.
Order
The court ordered Modu, within 30 days of the order, to either pay the $400 in fees or submit the attached signed application to proceed without prepayment of fees. The application was to identify docket number 20-CV-2453 (CM). The court explained that, if it granted the application, Modu could proceed without paying the fees in advance.
The Clerk of Court was directed to mail the order to Modu and record service on the docket. No summons was to issue at that time. The court stated that, if Modu complied, the case would be processed under the Clerk’s Office procedures; if Modu failed to comply within the allowed time, the action would be dismissed.
Appeal ruling and effect
The court certified under 28 U.S.C. § 1915(a)(3) that an appeal from this order would not be taken in good faith. It therefore denied permission to proceed without prepaying fees for an appeal. Judge Colleen McMahon signed the order. The opinion did not decide the underlying claims against Notorious Big, LLC, or the other defendants.
Read the full 2-page opinion on CourtListener, the free public archive maintained by the Free Law Project.