Watkins v. Bush
- Laura Swain
- 1:21-cv-04530
- U.S. District Court · Southern District of New York
- 2
In Watkins v. Bush, Chief Judge Swain ordered Watkins to pay fees or submit an IFP application within 30 days.
Clover Janice Watkins, the self-represented plaintiff, was required to pay the fees or submit an application to proceed without prepayment; the case could be dismissed if she did not comply.
What happened
In Watkins v. Bush, Clover Janice Watkins filed a civil action without a lawyer but did not pay the required fees or submit an application to proceed without paying them at the start.
The court explained that proceeding required either payment of $402 in filing and administrative fees or a signed application to proceed without prepayment. Watkins had 30 days from the order to make that choice and submit any application with the case number.
Chief Judge Swain ordered the Clerk to mail the order to Watkins, directed that no summons issue yet, and stated that the action would be dismissed if Watkins did not comply. The court also denied permission to appeal without paying fees.
The detailed version
- Watkins v. Bush · No. 1:21-cv-04530
- Laura Swain
- June 4, 2021
Background
Clover Janice Watkins brought the action without a lawyer. She submitted the complaint without paying the required fees and without an application to proceed without prepaying fees, commonly called an in forma pauperis application.
Court’s order
The court stated that a civil action requires payment of $402: a $350 filing fee and a $52 administrative fee. Alternatively, Watkins could request permission to proceed without prepayment by completing, signing, and submitting the attached application under 28 U.S.C. § 1915. The court gave her 30 days from the date of the order to pay the fees or submit the application, which was to include docket number 1:21-CV-4530 (LTS).
The court directed the Clerk to mail the order to Watkins and record service on the docket. It ordered that no summons issue at that time. The action would be processed under the Clerk’s procedures if Watkins complied; if she failed to comply within the allowed time, the action would be dismissed.
Appeal-fee 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 permission to appeal without prepaying fees. 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.