Gaynor v. City of New York
- Colleen McMahon
- 1:20-cv-05226
- U.S. District Court · Southern District of New York
- 2
In Gaynor v. City of New York, Judge McMahon ordered pro se plaintiff Zachary Gaynor to pay $400 or submit an application to proceed without prepaying fees within 30 days.
Zachary Gaynor, who had to pay the required fees or submit an application to proceed without prepaying them within 30 days.
What happened
In Gaynor v. City of New York, Zachary Gaynor brought the action without a lawyer. He submitted the complaint but did not pay the required fees or provide an application to proceed without prepaying them.
The court ordered Gaynor, within 30 days, to pay $400 or submit a signed application to proceed without prepaying fees. The court said no summons would be issued at that time and warned that the action would be dismissed if he did not comply.
Judge Colleen McMahon also ruled that an appeal from this order would not be taken in good faith and denied permission to appeal without prepaying fees.
The detailed version
- Gaynor v. City of New York · No. 1:20-cv-05226
- Colleen McMahon
- July 29, 2020
Background
Zachary Gaynor brought this action without a lawyer. He submitted a complaint but did not pay the required filing fees and did not submit an application to proceed without prepaying fees.
Payment or fee-waiver requirement
The court explained that starting 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 requesting permission to proceed without prepaying fees. The court cited 28 U.S.C. §§ 1914 and 1915.
The court ordered Gaynor to complete one of those two options within 30 days of the order. If he submitted the application, it had to identify docket number 20-CV-5226. The court stated that, if it granted the application, Gaynor could proceed without prepaying fees.
Order
The court directed the Clerk of Court to mail the order to Gaynor and record service on the docket. No summons would issue at that time. The court stated that the case would be processed under the Clerk’s procedures if Gaynor complied, but that the action would be dismissed if he did not comply within the allowed time.
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.
Read the full 2-page opinion on CourtListener, the free public archive maintained by the Free Law Project.