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S.D.N.Y.Procedural orderFiled Jan. 29, 2021

Dawkins v. Newman

Judge
Colleen McMahon
Docket
1:21-cv-00624
Court
U.S. District Court · Southern District of New York
Pages
2
Civil ProcedurePro Se
In one sentence

In Dawkins v. Newman, Judge McMahon ordered payment of fees or an application to proceed without prepaying them.

Who this affects

Jermaine Andrew Dawkins was required to pay the filing and administrative fees or submit an application to proceed without prepaying them; the action could be dismissed if he did not comply within 30 days.

What happened

In Dawkins v. Newman, Jermaine Andrew Dawkins filed a civil lawsuit without paying the required fees or submitting an application to proceed without prepaying them. The order does not discuss the claims against the defendants.

The court gave Dawkins 30 days to pay $402 or submit a signed application to proceed without prepaying fees. No summons would issue at that time, and the case would be dismissed if he did not comply.

Judge Colleen McMahon also denied permission to appeal without prepaying fees, finding that any appeal from this order would not be taken in good faith.

The detailed version

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

Case
Dawkins v. Newman · No. 1:21-cv-00624
Judge
Colleen McMahon
Date
Jan. 29, 2021

Background Jermaine Andrew Dawkins brought this action without a lawyer against James Newman, Lawyer; James Newman Law, PC; and Kyle Newman, Lawyer. The opinion does not describe the claims. Dawkins submitted the complaint without paying the required fees and without submitting an application to proceed without prepaying fees.

Fee or fee-waiver requirement The court stated that a civil action required payment of $402: a $350 filing fee and a $52 administrative fee. Instead of paying those fees, Dawkins could request permission to proceed without prepaying them by submitting a signed application. The court directed Dawkins, within 30 days of the order, to either pay the fees or submit the attached application labeled with docket number 21-CV-0624 (CM). If the court granted the application, Dawkins would be allowed to proceed without prepaying the fees.

Ruling and effect Judge Colleen McMahon ordered Dawkins to pay the fees or submit the application within the stated period. The clerk was directed to mail him a copy of the order and record service on the docket. No summons was to issue at that time. The court stated that the action would be dismissed if Dawkins failed to comply. The court also certified that an appeal from the order would not be taken in good faith and 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.

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