Beresnyak v. Catholic Medical Mission Board, Inc.
- Laura Swain
- 1:20-cv-04083
- U.S. District Court · Southern District of New York
- 2
In Beresnyak v. Catholic Medical Mission Board, Judge McMahon ordered the pro se plaintiff to pay fees or submit an application to proceed without prepayment.
Timothy A. Beresnyak was required to pay $400 in fees or submit a signed application to proceed without prepayment within 30 days; failure to comply would result in dismissal of the action. The defendants were not subject to a merits ruling.
What happened
In Beresnyak v. Catholic Medical Mission Board, Inc., Timothy A. Beresnyak filed a civil action without paying the required fees or submitting an application to proceed without prepayment. The opinion identifies him as representing himself.
The court explained that starting a civil action required either paying $400 in fees or submitting a signed application to proceed without prepayment. It gave Beresnyak 30 days from the order to do one of those things.
Judge Colleen McMahon ordered the Clerk of Court to mail the order to Beresnyak, directed that no summons issue yet, and stated that the action would be dismissed if he did not comply on time. The court also denied permission to appeal without prepaying fees, finding that any appeal would not be taken in good faith.
The detailed version
- Beresnyak v. Catholic Medical Mission Board, Inc. · No. 1:20-cv-04083
- Laura Swain
- June 1, 2020
Background
Timothy A. Beresnyak sued Catholic Medical Mission Board, Inc.; Bruce Wilkinson; Meseret Ansebo; and John Mix. The opinion states that Beresnyak brought the action without a lawyer. He submitted a complaint but did not pay the required fees and did not submit an application to proceed without prepayment of fees.
Order
The court explained that a plaintiff starting a civil action must either pay $400 in fees—a $350 filing fee and a $50 administrative fee—or submit a signed application to proceed without prepayment under 28 U.S.C. §§ 1914 and 1915. The court ordered Beresnyak, within 30 days of the order, to pay the fees or submit the application. If the court grants the application, he may proceed without prepaying the fees.
The court directed the Clerk of Court to mail the order to Beresnyak and record service on the docket. It ordered that no summons issue at that time. The order stated that the case would be processed under the Clerk’s Office procedures if Beresnyak complied, but that the action would be dismissed if he failed to comply within the allowed time.
Appeal and disposition
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 prepaying fees. The order did not decide the underlying claims against the defendants.
Read the full 2-page opinion on CourtListener, the free public archive maintained by the Free Law Project.