Davis v. Davis
- Louis Stanton
- 1:20-cv-06506
- U.S. District Court · Southern District of New York
- 2
In Davis v. Davis, Judge McMahon ordered the pro se plaintiff to pay fees or submit an application to proceed without prepayment.
Arthur E. Davis III, who was required to pay the filing fees or submit an application to proceed without prepayment and was denied permission to appeal without prepaying fees.
What happened
In Davis v. Davis, Arthur E. Davis III brought a civil action without a lawyer but did not submit the required fees or an application to proceed without prepayment of fees.
The court ordered him, within 30 days, either to pay $400 or submit a signed application. No summons would issue at that time, and the case would be processed if he complied; otherwise, the action would be dismissed.
Chief Judge Colleen McMahon also denied permission to appeal without prepaying fees, certifying that an appeal would not be taken in good faith. The order did not decide the underlying dispute.
The detailed version
- Davis v. Davis · No. 1:20-cv-06506
- Louis Stanton
- Aug. 31, 2020
Background
Arthur E. Davis III brought the action pro se, meaning without a lawyer. The complaint was submitted without the $400 required fees: a $350 filing fee and a $50 administrative fee. Davis also did not submit an application to proceed without prepaying those fees.
Order
The court directed Davis, within 30 days of the order, to do one of two things: pay the $400 in fees or submit a signed application to proceed without prepayment of fees. The application had to identify docket number 1:20-CV-6506 (CM). The court stated that, if it granted the application, Davis could proceed without prepaying the fees.
No summons would issue at that time. If Davis complied with the order, the action would be processed under the Clerk’s Office procedures. If he failed to comply within the allowed time, the action would be dismissed.
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 permission to appeal without prepaying fees. The order addressed filing and appeal fees and did not decide the merits of the underlying dispute.
Read the full 2-page opinion on CourtListener, the free public archive maintained by the Free Law Project.