Dupigny v. United States
- Louis Stanton
- 1:20-cv-05346
- U.S. District Court · Southern District of New York
- 5
In Dupigny v. United States, Judge McMahon granted more time to pay filing fees or apply to proceed without prepayment, while denying appeal fee assistance.
Hubert Dupigny, who received additional time to pay the filing fees or submit an application to proceed without prepaying them, but was denied fee assistance for an appeal.
What happened
In Dupigny v. United States, Hubert Dupigny, who was detained and represented himself, asked for more time to follow the court’s earlier order about paying filing fees or applying to proceed without paying them upfront.
The court granted the extension and gave Dupigny 30 days from the order to either pay the required fees or submit the required application and prisoner authorization. The court also provided payment instructions and forms.
Judge Colleen McMahon directed the Clerk to mail the order and forms to Dupigny and denied fee assistance for any appeal, finding that an appeal would not be taken in good faith.
The detailed version
- Dupigny v. United States · No. 1:20-cv-05346
- Louis Stanton
- Sept. 2, 2020
Background
Hubert Dupigny brought this action without a lawyer while detained at the Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn, New York. The court had previously ordered him to pay the $400 required to bring an action in the court or, if he could not pay upfront, to submit an application to proceed without prepaying fees and a prisoner authorization. Dupigny sent a letter asking for more time and information about how to pay.
Court’s action
The court granted Dupigny’s request for an extension. It directed him to pay the relevant fees or submit a completed and signed application to proceed without prepaying fees and a prisoner authorization within 30 days of the order. The order stated that, if he submitted the required forms, $350 would be deducted from his prisoner account in monthly installments. It also explained that he could pay the $400 by certified check or money order payable to the Clerk of Court for the Southern District of New York and provided the mailing instructions. The court attached the application and authorization forms and directed the Clerk to mail the order to Dupigny and record service on the docket.
Appeal-fee ruling
Judge Colleen McMahon certified under 28 U.S.C. § 1915(a)(3) that any appeal from this order would not be taken in good faith. The court therefore denied fee assistance for an appeal. This order addressed filing-fee procedures and did not decide the underlying claims against the defendants.
Read the full 5-page opinion on CourtListener, the free public archive maintained by the Free Law Project.