Balkanli v. Oliver Jr
- Valerie Caproni
- 1:20-cv-08305
- U.S. District Court · Southern District of New York
- 4
In Balkanli v. Oliver, Judge Caproni ordered each pro se plaintiff to pay fees or submit a fee-waiver application within 30 days.
Muharrem Balkanli and Engin Guler had 30 days to pay the $400 in fees or each submit a signed application to proceed without prepaying fees. A plaintiff who failed to comply would have that plaintiff’s claims dismissed.
What happened
In Balkanli v. Oliver, Muharrem Balkanli and Engin Guler sued Ernest A. Oliver and others without lawyers. They filed a complaint but did not pay the required fees or each submit a signed application to proceed without paying them upfront.
The court gave each plaintiff 30 days to pay the total $400 in filing and administrative fees or to complete, sign, and submit a separate application to proceed without prepaying fees. If the court grants an application, that plaintiff may proceed without paying the fees upfront.
Judge Valerie Caproni directed the Clerk to mail the order to the plaintiffs, and no summons would issue at that time. The order states that a plaintiff who fails to comply within the allowed time will have that plaintiff’s claims dismissed, and it denies fee-waiver status for an appeal from the order.
The detailed version
- Balkanli v. Oliver Jr · No. 1:20-cv-08305
- Valerie Caproni
- Oct. 23, 2020
Background
Plaintiffs Muharrem Balkanli and Engin Guler brought the action without lawyers. The complaint was submitted without payment of the required fees and without each plaintiff completing and submitting a signed application to proceed without prepaying fees.
Order
The court explained that proceeding with a civil action required payment of $400: a $350 filing fee and a $50 administrative fee. Alternatively, each plaintiff could request permission to proceed without prepaying fees by submitting a separate, signed application under 28 U.S.C. §§ 1914 and 1915.
The court ordered that, within 30 days of the order, the plaintiffs must either pay the $400 in fees or each complete, sign, and submit an application to proceed without prepaying fees. Any application was to identify docket number 1:20-CV-8305 (VEC). If the court grants the applications, each plaintiff would be permitted to proceed without prepayment of fees.
Disposition
Judge Valerie Caproni directed the Clerk of Court to mail the order to the plaintiffs and note service on the docket. No summons was to issue at that time. The order states that if both plaintiffs comply, the action will be processed under the Clerk’s Office procedures; if a plaintiff fails to comply within the allowed time, that plaintiff’s claims will be dismissed. The court also certified under 28 U.S.C. § 1915(a)(3) that an appeal from the order would not be taken in good faith and denied permission to proceed without prepaying fees for purposes of an appeal.
Read the full 4-page opinion on CourtListener, the free public archive maintained by the Free Law Project.