Dawkins v. James Newman Law, PC
- Colleen McMahon
- 1:20-cv-02671
- U.S. District Court · Southern District of New York
- 2
Judge McMahon dismissed Dawkins v. James Newman Law, PC without prejudice because Dawkins neither paid the filing fee nor submitted required forms.
The dismissal directly affected Plaintiff Jermaine Andre Dawkins and ended this complaint without prejudice; the opinion does not describe any ruling on the underlying claims against James Newman Law, PC.
What happened
In Dawkins v. James Newman Law, PC, the court gave Plaintiff Jermaine Andre Dawkins 30 days to pay the required $400 filing fee or submit a request to proceed without paying it. If he was a prisoner, he also had to submit a prisoner authorization.
The court had warned that failing to comply would lead to dismissal. Dawkins did not submit the required request and authorization or pay the filing fee.
Judge Colleen McMahon dismissed the complaint without prejudice. The court also denied Dawkins permission to appeal without paying fees, certifying that an appeal would not be taken in good faith.
The detailed version
- Dawkins v. James Newman Law, PC · No. 1:20-cv-02671
- Colleen McMahon
- June 5, 2020
Background
On March 31, 2020, the court ordered Plaintiff Jermaine Andre Dawkins to do one of two things within 30 days: pay the $400 fees required to file a civil action, or submit a completed application to proceed without paying those fees. The court also stated that, if Dawkins was a prisoner, he had to submit a prisoner authorization. The order warned that failure to comply would result in dismissal.
What the Court Decided
The court found that Dawkins had not submitted the application to proceed without paying fees and prisoner authorization, and had not paid the filing fees. The court therefore dismissed the complaint without prejudice, meaning the dismissal did not bar refiling. The opinion does not address the underlying claims against James Newman Law, PC.
Appeal-Fee Ruling
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 Dawkins permission to appeal without paying the required fees. Judge Colleen McMahon also directed the Clerk of Court to mail the order to Dawkins and record service on the docket.
Read the full 2-page opinion on CourtListener, the free public archive maintained by the Free Law Project.