Lyman v. New York City Health and Hospitals Corporation
- Paul Engelmayer
- 1:20-cv-04390
- U.S. District Court · Southern District of New York
- 2
In Lyman v. New York City Health and Hospitals Corporation, Judge McMahon ordered payment or an amended fee-waiver application within 30 days.
Denise Lyman must either pay the $400 in court fees or submit an amended application showing that she cannot pay. The case will be dismissed if she does not comply within 30 days, and no summons will issue unless she complies.
What happened
In Lyman v. New York City Health and Hospitals Corporation, the court reviewed Denise Lyman’s request to proceed without paying court fees in advance. The court found that her application did not show that she was unable to pay.
Lyman reported monthly wages of $7,200, bank funds of about $8,000 to $10,000, an automobile worth about $4,000, and real estate valued at $475,000. She also reported monthly expenses of about $4,380, no dependents, and credit card debts stated in the opinion as totaling about $7,5000.00.
Judge Colleen McMahon ordered Lyman, within 30 days, either to pay the $400 in fees or submit an amended application with facts showing that she cannot pay. The court directed that no summons issue yet and stated that the action will be dismissed if she does not comply; it also denied fee-waiver status for an appeal.
The detailed version
- Lyman v. New York City Health and Hospitals Corporation · No. 1:20-cv-04390
- Paul Engelmayer
- June 18, 2020
Background
Denise Lyman brought the action without a lawyer and submitted an application to proceed in forma pauperis, meaning without paying court fees in advance. The court explained that a civil action ordinarily requires payment of a $350 filing fee and a $50 administrative fee, for a total of $400, or a signed application seeking permission to proceed without prepayment.
Court’s Analysis
The court concluded that Lyman’s application did not establish that she was unable to pay the fees. The application reported gross monthly wages of $7,200 as her only income, approximately $8,000 to $10,000 in a bank account, an automobile worth about $4,000, and real estate valued at $475,000. It also reported no dependents, monthly expenses of approximately $4,380 for housing, insurance, and utilities, and credit card debts that the opinion states totaled about $7,5000.00. Based on those responses, the court stated that Lyman may have sufficient funds to pay the fees.
Order
The court ordered Lyman, within 30 days of the order, either to pay the $400 in fees or submit an amended application. Any amended application must use docket number 20-CV-4390 (CM) and provide facts establishing that she cannot pay the filing fees. The court stated that, if it grants the amended application, Lyman may proceed without prepaying fees.
The Clerk of Court was directed to mail the order to Lyman and record service on the docket. No summons was to issue at that time. The case would be processed under the Clerk’s procedures if Lyman complied, but the action would be dismissed if she failed to comply within the allowed time. The court also certified that an appeal would not be taken in good faith and denied permission to proceed without prepaying fees for purposes of an appeal.
Read the full 2-page opinion on CourtListener, the free public archive maintained by the Free Law Project.