Dawkins v. James Newman Law, PC
- Colleen McMahon
- 1:20-cv-02671
- U.S. District Court · Southern District of New York
- 3
In Dawkins v. James Newman Law, Judge McMahon gave Dawkins 30 days to pay fees or submit required forms.
The order directly affects plaintiff Jermaine Andre Dawkins by requiring him to pay the fees or submit the specified forms within 30 days. It also postpones issuance of a summons and warns that the action will be dismissed if he does not comply.
What happened
In Dawkins v. James Newman Law, PC, Jermaine Andre Dawkins filed a civil lawsuit without paying the filing fees or submitting completed forms to request permission to proceed without prepaying them. The court noted that it was unclear whether he faced pending criminal charges while hospitalized at Bellevue Hospital.
Judge McMahon ordered Dawkins, within 30 days, either to pay $400 in fees or submit the required forms. If he was facing pending criminal charges, he had to submit both an application to proceed without prepaying fees and a prisoner authorization; if not, he had to submit only the application.
Judge Colleen McMahon directed the Clerk to mail the order to Dawkins and stated that no summons would issue yet. She warned that the action would be dismissed if Dawkins did not comply, and denied permission to appeal without prepaying fees.
The detailed version
- Dawkins v. James Newman Law, PC · No. 1:20-cv-02671
- Colleen McMahon
- Mar. 31, 2020
Background
Jermaine Andre Dawkins filed this civil action without paying the required fees and without submitting a completed application to proceed without prepaying fees or a prisoner authorization. The opinion states that Dawkins was proceeding without a lawyer and was hospitalized at Bellevue Hospital. It was unclear whether he faced pending criminal charges.
Filing requirements
The court explained that a person considered a prisoner under 28 U.S.C. § 1915(h) must either pay $400 in filing and administrative fees or request permission to proceed without prepaying fees. A prisoner seeking that permission must submit a signed application and authorization for the court to withdraw the $350 filing fee from the prisoner's account in installments and receive the required account statements. The court also noted that the $50 administrative fee does not apply to a person granted permission to proceed without prepaying fees.
Because Dawkins's status was unclear, the court gave him 30 days from the date of the order to comply. If he was facing pending criminal charges, he had to pay the $400 or submit both the application and prisoner authorization. If he was not facing pending criminal charges, he had to indicate that and submit only the application. The documents were to identify docket number 20-CV-2671 (CM).
Disposition
Judge Colleen McMahon directed the Clerk of Court to mail the order to Dawkins and note service on the docket. No summons was to issue at that time. The court stated that, if Dawkins complied, the case would be processed under the Clerk's Office procedures; if he failed to comply within the allowed time, the action would be dismissed. The court also certified that an appeal would not be taken in good faith and denied permission to appeal without prepaying fees. The opinion did not decide the underlying claims against James Newman Law, PC.
Read the full 3-page opinion on CourtListener, the free public archive maintained by the Free Law Project.