Vernon v. Maxwell
- Louis Stanton
- 1:20-cv-06928
- U.S. District Court · Southern District of New York
- 2
In Vernon v. Maxwell, Judge McMahon ordered the pro se plaintiff to pay fees or submit an application to proceed without prepayment.
George Thomas Vernon, who must either pay the required fees or submit an application to proceed without prepayment within 30 days; the action may be dismissed if he does not comply.
What happened
In Vernon v. Maxwell, George Thomas Vernon filed a civil action without paying the required fees or submitting an application to proceed without prepayment. The case names Ghislaine Maxwell and Jeffrey Epstein as defendants.
The court ordered Vernon, within 30 days, either to pay $400 in filing and administrative fees or to complete and submit an application to proceed without prepayment. The court directed the clerk to mail him the order, and no summons would issue at that time.
Judge Colleen McMahon ordered that the case be processed if Vernon complied and stated that the action would be dismissed if he did not comply on time. She also denied permission to appeal without prepaying fees, certifying that any appeal would not be taken in good faith.
The detailed version
- Vernon v. Maxwell · No. 1:20-cv-06928
- Louis Stanton
- Sept. 10, 2020
Background
George Thomas Vernon brought this civil action without a lawyer against Ghislaine Maxwell and Jeffrey Epstein. The complaint was submitted without the required fees and without an application to proceed without prepayment of fees.
Filing-fee requirement
The order explains that filing a civil action in the district court requires payment of $400: a $350 filing fee and a $50 administrative fee. A plaintiff who seeks to proceed without paying those fees in advance must submit a signed application under 28 U.S.C. § 1915.
The court gave Vernon 30 days from the date of the order to do one of two things: pay the $400 or complete and submit the attached application. If the court grants the application, Vernon may proceed without prepaying the fees. The application must identify docket number 1:20-CV-6928 (CM).
Order and effect
The clerk was directed to mail Vernon a copy of the order and record service on the docket. No summons was to issue at that time. The court stated that the action would be processed under the clerk's procedures if Vernon complied, but that the action would be dismissed if he failed to comply within the allowed time.
The order did not decide the underlying claims. It also certified under 28 U.S.C. § 1915(a)(3) that an appeal would not be taken in good faith and denied permission to appeal without prepaying fees. The opinion is signed by Chief United States District Judge Colleen McMahon.
Read the full 2-page opinion on CourtListener, the free public archive maintained by the Free Law Project.