Van Stuyvesant v. Barr
- Louis Stanton
- 1:20-cv-10478
- U.S. District Court · Southern District of New York
- 2
In Van Stuyvesant v. Barr, Judge McMahon ordered the pro se petitioner to pay fees or submit an application to proceed without prepayment.
Curtis Van Stuyvesant, who must either pay the required fees or submit an application to proceed without prepayment within 30 days; the action may be dismissed if he does not comply.
What happened
In Van Stuyvesant v. Barr, Curtis Van Stuyvesant filed a self-represented action styled as a petition for a court order requiring government action. He submitted the complaint without paying the required fees or filing an application to proceed without prepayment.
The order gives Van Stuyvesant 30 days to pay $402 in fees or submit a signed application asking to proceed without prepayment. The court said no response from the respondents was required at that time.
Judge Colleen McMahon ordered the payment or application. She stated that if Van Stuyvesant does not comply on time, the action will be dismissed, and she denied permission to appeal without prepaying fees.
The detailed version
- Van Stuyvesant v. Barr · No. 1:20-cv-10478
- Louis Stanton
- Dec. 11, 2020
Background
Curtis Van Stuyvesant filed a pro se action, meaning he was representing himself, against William Barr and other respondents. He styled the filing as a “Petition for a Writ of Mandamus.” The opinion does not address whether he was entitled to the requested relief.
Fees and application to proceed without prepayment
The court explained that a person starting a civil action must either pay $402 in fees—$350 as the filing fee and $52 as the administrative fee—or submit a signed application to proceed without prepayment of fees. Van Stuyvesant submitted the complaint without either paying the fees or filing the application.
The court ordered him, within 30 days of the order, to pay the $402 or submit the attached application. If the court grants the application, he may proceed without prepaying the fees. The application was to include docket number 20-CV-10478 (CM).
Order
Judge Colleen McMahon directed the Clerk of Court to mail the order to Van Stuyvesant and record service on the docket. The court stated that no answer was required at that time and that the action will be dismissed if Van Stuyvesant fails to comply within the permitted period. The court also certified that an appeal would not be taken in good faith and denied permission to appeal without prepaying fees.
Read the full 2-page opinion on CourtListener, the free public archive maintained by the Free Law Project.