Thomas v. Citigroup Global Markets Holding Inc.
- Valerie Caproni
- 1:21-cv-03673
- U.S. District Court · Southern District of New York
- 2
In Sean H. Thomas v. Citigroup Global Markets Holdings Inc., Judge Swain ordered payment or an IFP application within 30 days before the case could proceed.
Sean H. Thomas, who was required to pay the fees or submit an application to proceed without prepayment within 30 days; the action could be dismissed if he did not comply.
What happened
Sean H. Thomas sued Citigroup Global Markets Holdings Inc. without a lawyer, but submitted his complaint without paying the required fees or providing an application to proceed without paying them upfront.
The court ordered Thomas, within 30 days, either to pay $402 in filing and administrative fees or submit a signed application to proceed without prepayment. No summons would issue at that time, and the case would be dismissed if he did not comply.
Judge Laura Taylor Swain issued the order on May 12, 2021. She also determined that an appeal from the order would not be taken in good faith and denied permission to appeal without prepaying fees.
The detailed version
- Thomas v. Citigroup Global Markets Holding Inc. · No. 1:21-cv-03673
- Valerie Caproni
- May 12, 2021
Background
Sean H. Thomas brought this civil action without a lawyer. He submitted a complaint but did not pay the required fees and did not submit an application to proceed without prepaying them.
Order
The court explained that starting a civil action requires payment of $402: a $350 filing fee and a $52 administrative fee. Instead of paying those fees, a plaintiff may request permission to proceed without prepayment by submitting a signed application under 28 U.S.C. § 1915.
The court ordered Thomas to do one of two things within 30 days of the order: pay the $402 in fees or submit the attached application to proceed without prepayment. If the court granted the application, Thomas could proceed without paying the fees upfront. The application was to identify docket number 21-CV-3673 (LTS).
The clerk was directed to mail the order to Thomas and record service on the docket. No summons was to issue at that time. The order stated that the case would be processed under the clerk's procedures if Thomas complied and that the action would be dismissed if he did not comply within the allowed time.
Appeal and disposition
The court certified under 28 U.S.C. § 1915(a)(3) that an appeal from the order would not be taken in good faith and denied permission to appeal without prepaying fees. This order addressed filing fees and permission to proceed without prepayment; it did not decide the underlying claims.
Read the full 2-page opinion on CourtListener, the free public archive maintained by the Free Law Project.