Henderson v. Sticht
- Nelson Roman
- 7:20-cv-07575
- U.S. District Court · Southern District of New York
- 2
In Henderson v. Sticht, Judge McMahon ordered payment of a $5 filing fee or a fee-waiver application before processing Henderson’s petition.
Ted L. Henderson, who must pay the filing fee or submit a fee-waiver application within 30 days to avoid dismissal of the action.
What happened
In Henderson v. Sticht, Ted L. Henderson, representing himself, filed a petition for a writ against Thomas Sticht but did not include the required filing fee or an application to waive that fee.
Henderson’s accompanying letter said he had included a $5 check, but the court said it had no record of receiving one. The court gave him 30 days to pay the fee or submit a signed fee-waiver application.
Judge Colleen McMahon directed the Clerk’s Office to mail Henderson the order and said no response was required yet. The case would proceed if Henderson complied, but the action would be dismissed if he did not; the court also denied fee-waiver status for any appeal.
The detailed version
- Henderson v. Sticht · No. 7:20-cv-07575
- Nelson Roman
- Sept. 17, 2020
Background
Ted L. Henderson, proceeding without a lawyer, filed a petition for a writ against Thomas Sticht. The petition was submitted without the $5 filing fee or a signed application asking to proceed without paying the fee in advance. Henderson included a letter stating that he had included a $5 check, but the court said it had no record of receiving the check.
Court’s Order
The court ordered Henderson, within 30 days of the order, to either pay the $5 filing fee or complete and submit the attached application to proceed without prepaying fees. If the court granted that application, Henderson could proceed without paying the fee in advance. The application was to identify docket number 20-CV-7575 (CM).
The court directed the Clerk of Court to mail Henderson a copy of the order and record service on the docket. It stated that no answer was required at that time. If Henderson complied, the case would be processed under the Clerk’s Office’s procedures. If he failed to comply within the allowed time, the action would be dismissed.
The court also certified that an appeal from the order would not be taken in good faith and denied fee-waiver status for purposes of an appeal. The opinion does not rule on the substance of Henderson’s petition.
Read the full 2-page opinion on CourtListener, the free public archive maintained by the Free Law Project.