Martinez v. Commissioner of Social Security
- Vincent Briccetti
- 7:20-cv-10142
- U.S. District Court · Southern District of New York
- 4
In Martinez v. Commissioner of Social Security, Judge Briccetti ordered payment of filing fees or a complete fee-waiver application.
Antonio Martinez, who was required to pay the filing fees or submit a complete application to proceed without prepaying them; the underlying Social Security dispute was not decided.
What happened
In Antonio Martinez v. Commissioner of Social Security, Antonio Martinez filed the case without a lawyer and asked to proceed without paying the filing fees. He submitted only page two of the required two-page application, so the court could not determine whether he could pay.
The court ordered Martinez to pay $400 or submit a fully completed application by January 4, 2021. The court did not issue a summons at that time and said the action would be dismissed if he did not comply.
Judge Vincent L. Briccetti also certified that an appeal would not be taken in good faith and denied permission to appeal without prepaying fees. The order did not decide the underlying Social Security dispute.
The detailed version
- Martinez v. Commissioner of Social Security · No. 7:20-cv-10142
- Vincent Briccetti
- Dec. 4, 2020
Background
Antonio Martinez brought this action without a lawyer. To begin a civil case in the court, a person must either pay $400 in filing and administrative fees or submit a signed application asking to proceed without paying those fees in advance.
Martinez submitted an application to proceed without prepaying fees, but he provided only page two of the two-page form. The court therefore could not determine whether he had insufficient funds to pay the fees.
Order
The court ordered Martinez, by January 4, 2021, to do one of two things: pay the $400 in fees or submit a fully completed application. The court stated that, if it approved a new application, Martinez could proceed without paying the fees in advance. The court directed that no summons issue at that time and stated that the action would be dismissed if Martinez did not comply with the order within the allowed time.
Appeal and scope of ruling
Judge Vincent L. Briccetti certified under 28 U.S.C. § 1915(a)(3) that any appeal from the order would not be taken in good faith and denied permission to appeal without prepaying fees. This order addressed filing-fee requirements and did not decide the merits of Martinez's underlying Social Security claim.
Read the full 4-page opinion on CourtListener, the free public archive maintained by the Free Law Project.