Smiley v. Commissioner of Social Security
- Cathy Seibel
- 7:20-cv-04998
- U.S. District Court · Southern District of New York
- 4
In Smiley v. Commissioner of Social Security, Judge Smith ordered payment of fees or submission of an application to proceed without prepayment.
Tressie Smiley, who was required to pay the filing fees or submit an application to proceed without prepayment within 30 days.
What happened
In Tressie Smiley v. Commissioner of Social Security, Smiley filed a civil action without paying the required fees or submitting an application to proceed without prepayment.
The order gave Smiley 30 days to pay $400 or submit the attached application. No summons would issue at that time, and failure to comply would result in dismissal of the action.
Judge Lisa M. Smith also denied permission to proceed without prepayment for any appeal from the order, certifying that such an appeal would not be taken in good faith.
The detailed version
- Smiley v. Commissioner of Social Security · No. 7:20-cv-04998
- Cathy Seibel
- Sept. 24, 2020
Background
Tressie Smiley brought this Social Security action without a lawyer. She submitted the complaint without paying the required filing and administrative fees and without submitting an application to proceed without prepayment of fees.
Order
The court explained that a person starting a civil action must either pay $400 in fees—$350 for filing and $50 for administration—or submit a signed application showing an inability to pay. The order directed Smiley, within 30 days, to do one of those two things. If she submitted the application, it had to identify docket number 20-CV-4998 (CS) (LMS). The court stated that, if the application were granted, Smiley could proceed without paying the fees in advance.
The Clerk of Court was directed to mail the order to Smiley and record service on the docket. No summons was to issue at that time. The court stated that the case would be processed under the Clerk's procedures if Smiley complied, but that the action would be dismissed if she did not comply within the allowed time.
Disposition
Judge Lisa M. Smith directed Smiley to pay the fees or submit the application within 30 days. The court also certified that an appeal from the order would not be taken in good faith and denied permission to proceed without prepayment of fees for an appeal. The order did not decide the underlying Social Security dispute.
Read the full 4-page opinion on CourtListener, the free public archive maintained by the Free Law Project.