Stinson v. Tucker
- Louis Stanton
- 1:20-cv-08701
- U.S. District Court · Southern District of New York
- 2
In Stinson v. Tucker, Chief Judge McMahon ordered Marcus Stinson to pay fees or submit an application to proceed without prepayment.
Marcus Stinson, the self-represented plaintiff, had to pay the required fees or submit an application to proceed without prepayment within 30 days to avoid dismissal of the action.
What happened
In Stinson v. Tucker & Pearson, Marcus Stinson filed the case without paying the required fees or submitting an application to proceed without prepaying them. The order states that Stinson was representing himself.
The court gave Stinson 30 days to pay $400 in fees or submit a signed application to proceed without prepayment. If the application is granted, he may proceed without paying the fees in advance. No summons would issue at that time, and failure to comply would result in dismissal of the action.
Chief Judge Colleen McMahon also stated that an appeal from the order would not be taken in good faith and denied permission to proceed without prepaying fees for an appeal.
The detailed version
- Stinson v. Tucker · No. 1:20-cv-08701
- Louis Stanton
- Oct. 28, 2020
Background
Marcus Stinson filed this civil action without paying the required filing and administrative fees and without submitting an application to proceed without prepayment of fees. The order states that he was proceeding without a lawyer.
Order
Under 28 U.S.C. §§ 1914 and 1915, the court required Stinson, within 30 days, to do one of two things: pay $400 in fees, consisting of a $350 filing fee and a $50 administrative fee, or complete and submit a signed application to proceed without prepayment of fees. The application had to identify docket number 1:20-CV-8701 (CM). If the court granted the application, Stinson could proceed without paying the fees in advance.
The clerk was directed to mail the order to Stinson and record service on the docket. No summons was to issue at that time. If Stinson complied, the clerk's office would process the action under its procedures; if he did not comply within the permitted time, the action would be dismissed.
Appeal-fee ruling
Chief Judge Colleen McMahon certified that any appeal from the order would not be taken in good faith. The court therefore denied permission to proceed without prepaying fees for an appeal.
Disposition
The court directed payment of fees or submission of an application to proceed without prepayment. It did not decide the merits of the underlying claims.
Read the full 2-page opinion on CourtListener, the free public archive maintained by the Free Law Project.