Epperson v. United States
- Colleen McMahon
- 1:21-cv-01849
- U.S. District Court · Southern District of New York
- 1
In Epperson v. United States, Judge McMahon dismissed the complaint without prejudice because Epperson neither paid filing fees nor submitted a fee-waiver application.
Chris Jonathan Epperson’s complaint was dismissed without prejudice for failing to submit the required fee-waiver application or pay the $402 filing fee. His request to appeal without paying fees was also denied.
What happened
In Epperson v. United States, the court had ordered Chris Jonathan Epperson to submit an application to proceed without paying filing fees or to pay the required $402 filing fee within 30 days. The order warned that failing to do so would lead to dismissal.
Epperson did neither. The court therefore dismissed the complaint without prejudice, meaning the dismissal did not bar refiling. The court also denied Epperson permission to appeal without paying fees, finding that an appeal would not be taken in good faith.
Judge Colleen McMahon issued the order on May 4, 2021. The order did not address the merits of Epperson’s claims against the United States or Geoffrey S. Binney.
The detailed version
- Epperson v. United States · No. 1:21-cv-01849
- Colleen McMahon
- May 4, 2021
Background
Chris Jonathan Epperson filed a civil complaint against the United States and Geoffrey S. Binney. On March 16, 2021, the court ordered Epperson either to submit a completed application to proceed without paying filing fees or to pay the $402 filing fee required for a civil action. The court stated that failure to comply would result in dismissal.
Ruling
Epperson did not submit the application and did not pay the filing fee. The court dismissed the complaint without prejudice under 28 U.S.C. §§ 1914 and 1915. The court did not decide the underlying claims.
Appeal-related ruling and effect
The court certified under 28 U.S.C. § 1915(a)(3) that any appeal from the order would not be taken in good faith. It therefore denied permission to appeal without paying fees. Because the complaint was dismissed without prejudice, the order did not bar refiling. Judge Colleen McMahon directed the Clerk of Court to mail the order to Epperson and record service on the docket.
Read the full 1-page opinion on CourtListener, the free public archive maintained by the Free Law Project.