Totin v. Home Residential LLC
- Ronnie Abrams
- 1:21-cv-04334
- U.S. District Court · Southern District of New York
- 2
In Totin v. Home Residential LLC, Judge Swain ordered Brian Totin to pay $402 or apply to proceed without prepaying fees.
Brian Totin was required to pay the fees or submit a signed application to proceed without prepaying them within 30 days; otherwise, the action would be dismissed. Home Residential LLC was not required to respond at this stage, and no summons issued.
What happened
In Totin v. Home Residential LLC, Brian Totin filed the action without paying the required fees or submitting an application to proceed without paying them upfront. The opinion identifies Totin as representing himself.
The court gave Totin 30 days to pay $402, consisting of a $350 filing fee and a $52 administrative fee, or submit a signed application to proceed without prepaying fees. No summons would issue at that time. The court stated that the action would be dismissed if Totin did not comply.
Judge Laura Taylor Swain issued the order. She also stated that an appeal from the order would not be considered a good-faith appeal and denied permission to appeal without prepaying fees.
The detailed version
- Totin v. Home Residential LLC · No. 1:21-cv-04334
- Ronnie Abrams
- May 26, 2021
Background
Brian Totin brought this civil action against Home Residential LLC without a lawyer. He submitted the complaint without paying the required fees and without filing an application to proceed without prepaying fees. The court explained that the required fees were $402: a $350 filing fee plus a $52 administrative fee.
Order
The court ordered Totin, within 30 days of the order, to do one of two things: pay the $402 in fees or submit a signed application to proceed without prepaying fees. This type of application is commonly called an application to proceed in forma pauperis, or IFP. If the court granted the application, Totin could proceed without paying the fees in advance.
The Clerk of Court was directed to mail the order to Totin and record service on the docket. No summons was to issue at that time. The court stated that, if Totin complied, the action would be processed under the Clerk’s Office procedures; if he failed to comply within the allowed time, the action would be dismissed.
Appeal-related ruling
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 IFP status for purposes of an appeal. Chief United States District Judge Laura Taylor Swain signed the order.
Read the full 2-page opinion on CourtListener, the free public archive maintained by the Free Law Project.