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S.D.N.Y.Procedural orderFiled Apr. 29, 2020

Straw v. Dentons US LLP

Judge
John Koeltl
Docket
1:20-cv-03312
Court
U.S. District Court · Southern District of New York
Pages
2
Pro SeCivil Procedure
In one sentence

In Straw v. Dentons US LLP, Chief Judge McMahon ordered Straw to pay fees or submit an application to proceed without prepayment.

Who this affects

Andrew U. D. Straw, who was required to pay the filing fees or submit an application to proceed without prepayment within 30 days. The action could be dismissed if he did not comply.

What happened

In Straw v. Dentons US LLP, Andrew U. D. Straw filed a civil action without paying the required fees or submitting an application to proceed without prepayment. The opinion states that Straw was representing himself.

The court gave Straw 30 days to pay $400 in fees or submit a signed application to proceed without prepayment. No summons would issue at that time, and the action would be dismissed if he did not comply. The court also denied permission to appeal without prepaying fees.

Chief Judge McMahon ordered the Clerk of Court to mail the order to Straw and record service on the docket. The case would proceed under the Clerk’s procedures if Straw complied.

The detailed version

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

Case
Straw v. Dentons US LLP · No. 1:20-cv-03312
Judge
John Koeltl
Date
Apr. 29, 2020

Background

Andrew U. D. Straw brought the action while representing himself. He submitted a complaint but did not pay the required fees and did not submit an application to proceed without prepayment of fees. The order identifies the defendants as Dentons US LLP; Kevin P. McGoff; Indiana University McKinney School of Law; and Publisher Thompson West, Publisher of North Eastern Reporter.

Order

The court explained that filing a civil action required either payment of $400—consisting of a $350 filing fee and a $50 administrative fee—or submission of a signed application to proceed in forma pauperis (without prepaying fees). The court ordered Straw, within 30 days of April 29, 2020, to do one of those two things. If he submitted the application, it was to include docket number 20-CV-3312 (CM). The court stated that the action would be dismissed if Straw did not comply within the permitted time. No summons would issue at that time.

Other 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 and denied permission to appeal without prepaying fees. The Clerk of Court was directed to mail Straw a copy of the order and note service on the docket. If Straw complied, the case would be processed under the Clerk’s procedures.

Judge

Chief United States District Judge Colleen McMahon entered the order.

The authoritative version

Read the full 2-page opinion on CourtListener, the free public archive maintained by the Free Law Project.

Open opinion PDF →
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