McIver v. Department of Social Services
- Colleen McMahon
- 1:21-cv-00783
- U.S. District Court · Southern District of New York
- 2
In McIver v. Department of Social Services, Judge McMahon ordered payment or a fee-waiver application before the case could proceed.
Tamicko Murray McIver, whose case could proceed only after payment of the required fees or submission of a signed application to proceed without prepaying them.
What happened
In Tamicko Murray McIver v. Department of Social Services, the plaintiff filed a civil case without paying the required fees or submitting an application to proceed without paying them upfront.
The court gave McIver 30 days to pay $402 or submit a signed application for permission to proceed without prepaying the fees. No summons would issue yet, and the case would be processed if McIver complied.
Judge McMahon ordered these steps and stated that failing to comply would result in dismissal of the action. She also denied permission to appeal without paying fees, finding that an appeal would not be taken in good faith.
The detailed version
- McIver v. Department of Social Services · No. 1:21-cv-00783
- Colleen McMahon
- Feb. 2, 2021
Background
Tamicko Murray McIver brought this civil action without a lawyer. McIver submitted the complaint without paying the required filing and administrative fees and without submitting an application to proceed without prepaying fees. The opinion states that the total required fees were $402: a $350 filing fee and a $52 administrative fee.
Order
The court ordered McIver, within 30 days of the order, to either pay the $402 or submit a signed application to proceed without prepaying fees under 28 U.S.C. § 1915. If the application were granted, McIver would be allowed to proceed without prepaying the fees. The application was to be labeled with docket number 21-CV-0783 (CM).
No summons would issue at that time. The court stated that, if McIver complied, the case would be processed under the Clerk's Office procedures. If McIver did not comply within the allowed time, the action would be dismissed.
Appeal
Judge Colleen McMahon certified under 28 U.S.C. § 1915(a)(3) that an appeal from the order would not be taken in good faith. The court therefore denied permission to appeal without prepaying fees. This order did not decide the underlying claims against the Department of Social Services.
Read the full 2-page opinion on CourtListener, the free public archive maintained by the Free Law Project.