Kang v. Citibank
- Colleen McMahon
- 1:20-cv-06898
- U.S. District Court · Southern District of New York
In Kang v. Citibank, Judge McMahon ordered Kai Kang to pay $400 or submit an amended fee-waiver application within 30 days.
Kai Kang was required to pay the $400 fees or submit an amended fee-waiver application within 30 days; the action could be dismissed if he failed to comply. Citibank was not required to respond at this stage, and no summons issued.
What happened
In Kang v. Citibank, Kai Kang filed the case without a lawyer and asked to proceed without paying court fees. His application said he had no income or cash, but also said he was living from savings and had a brokerage account whose value he did not know.
The court found that the application did not show that Kang could not pay the fees. It ordered him, within 30 days, either to pay $400 or submit an amended application with facts showing that he could not pay. No summons would issue at that time, and the court said the case would be dismissed if he did not comply.
Judge Colleen McMahon also denied fee-free status for any appeal, certifying that an appeal would not be taken in good faith. The order did not decide the underlying claims against Citibank.
The detailed version
- Kang v. Citibank · No. 1:20-cv-06898
- Colleen McMahon
- Aug. 27, 2020
Background
Kai Kang brought the action without a lawyer. To proceed with a civil action in the Southern District of New York, a plaintiff must either pay $400 in fees—$350 for filing and $50 for administration—or submit a signed application requesting permission to proceed without paying the fees in advance.
Kang submitted an application to proceed without prepaying fees. He stated that he had no income or “cash,” but also stated that he was living from his own savings. He reported having a brokerage account but did not know its value.
Court’s analysis and order
The court concluded that Kang’s application did not establish that he was unable to pay the filing fees. The court ordered him, within 30 days of the order, to do one of two things: pay the $400 in fees or submit an amended application. The amended application had to use docket number 20-CV-6898 (CM) and provide facts addressing the deficiencies by showing that he could not pay the fees.
The court stated that, if it granted the amended application, Kang could proceed without prepaying the filing fees. No summons would issue at that time. If Kang failed to comply within the allowed time, the action would be dismissed.
Other ruling and disposition
The court 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 proceed without prepaying fees for an appeal. Judge Colleen McMahon did not decide the underlying claims against Citibank in this order.
Read the full opinion on CourtListener, the free public archive maintained by the Free Law Project.