Kang v. Heinauer
- Jesse Furman
- 1:20-cv-10648
- U.S. District Court · Southern District of New York
- 2
In Kang v. Heinauer, Judge McMahon ordered the pro se petitioner to pay $402 or apply to proceed without prepaying fees within 30 days.
Suhee Kang, who must either pay the $402 fee or submit an IFP application within 30 days to avoid dismissal; the respondents are affected because the case could not proceed to summons at this stage.
What happened
In Kang v. Heinauer, Suhee Kang filed a petition asking the court to order government action, but did not pay the required fees or submit an application to proceed without prepaying them.
The court gave Kang 30 days to pay $402 or submit a signed application to proceed without prepaying fees. No summons would issue at that time, and the action would be dismissed if Kang did not comply.
Judge Colleen McMahon also ruled that any appeal from this order would not be taken in good faith and denied permission to appeal without prepaying fees. The order did not decide the petition’s underlying claims.
The detailed version
- Kang v. Heinauer · No. 1:20-cv-10648
- Jesse Furman
- Jan. 19, 2021
Background
Suhee Kang filed a petition for a writ of mandamus without a lawyer. A writ of mandamus is a court order directing an official or agency to take a required action. The opinion does not decide whether Kang was entitled to that relief.
Fees or application to proceed without prepayment
The court explained that starting a civil action required payment of $402: a $350 filing fee and a $52 administrative fee. Kang submitted neither the fees nor a signed application to proceed without prepaying them, commonly called an application to proceed in forma pauperis, or IFP.
The court ordered Kang, within 30 days of January 19, 2021, to either pay the $402 or submit the attached IFP application. If the court granted the application, Kang could proceed without paying the fees in advance. The Clerk of Court was directed to mail the order to Kang and record service on the docket. No summons was to issue at that time. If Kang failed to comply within the allowed period, the action would be dismissed.
Appeal and disposition
The court certified that any appeal from this order would not be taken in good faith and denied IFP status for purposes of an appeal. This order addressed filing requirements and did not reach the merits of Kang’s petition.
The opinion’s caption identifies the respondents as Ken Cuccinelli, Director of USCIS, and others, while the supplied case name is Kang v. Heinauer. The opinion is signed by Colleen McMahon, although the supplied metadata lists Jesse Furman.
Read the full 2-page opinion on CourtListener, the free public archive maintained by the Free Law Project.