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S.D.N.Y.Procedural orderFiled Oct. 26, 2020

Rytlewski v. Government of The United States

Judge
Laura Swain
Docket
1:20-cv-08823
Court
U.S. District Court · Southern District of New York
Pages
2
Civil ProcedurePro Se
In one sentence

In Rytlewski v. Government of The United States, Chief Judge McMahon ordered payment or a fee-waiver application within 30 days.

Who this affects

Robert Allen Rytlewski, who must either pay the required fees or submit a signed application to proceed without prepaying them within 30 days.

What happened

In Rytlewski v. Government of The United States, Robert Allen Rytlewski filed a civil action without paying the required fees or submitting an application to proceed without paying them upfront. The opinion says he was representing himself.

The court gave Rytlewski 30 days to pay $400 or submit a signed application asking to proceed without prepaying fees. No summons would issue yet, and the case would be processed if he complied.

Chief Judge Colleen McMahon ordered the Clerk to send Rytlewski the order and stated that the action would be dismissed if he did not comply. She also denied permission to appeal without prepaying fees, certifying that an appeal would not be taken in good faith.

The detailed version

For law students, journalists, and other readers who want the full reasoning

Case
Rytlewski v. Government of The United States · No. 1:20-cv-08823
Judge
Laura Swain
Date
Oct. 26, 2020

Background

Robert Allen Rytlewski filed this civil action without paying the required filing and administrative fees and without submitting an application to proceed without prepaying fees. The order states that he is representing himself.

Order

The court directed Rytlewski, within 30 days of the order, to do one of two things: pay $400 in fees, consisting of a $350 filing fee and a $50 administrative fee, or submit a signed application to proceed without prepayment of fees under 28 U.S.C. § 1915. If the court grants the application, Rytlewski may proceed without prepaying the fees.

The court directed the Clerk of Court to send Rytlewski a copy of the order and record service on the docket. No summons was to issue at that time. The order states that the case would be processed under the Clerk's procedures if Rytlewski complied, but that the action would be dismissed if he failed to comply within the allowed period.

Appeal-Cost Determination

Chief Judge Colleen McMahon certified under 28 U.S.C. § 1915(a)(3) that any appeal from the order would not be taken in good faith. The court therefore denied permission to appeal without prepaying fees.

The authoritative version

Read the full 2-page opinion on CourtListener, the free public archive maintained by the Free Law Project.

Open opinion PDF →
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