Hosein v. Mayorkas
- Laura Swain
- 1:21-cv-04057
- U.S. District Court · Southern District of New York
- 2
In Hosein v. Mayorkas, Judge Swain ordered the pro se plaintiff to pay filing fees or submit a complete amended fee-waiver application.
Sharaz Hosein, who represented himself, must either pay the court’s fees or submit a more complete application; failure to comply will result in dismissal of the action.
What happened
In Hosein v. Mayorkas, Sharaz Hosein asked to proceed without paying the court’s fees upfront. He submitted a fee-waiver application but did not provide enough information about his income, expenses, or assets.
The court ordered Hosein, within 30 days, either to pay $402 in filing and administrative fees or to submit an amended application explaining why he cannot pay. No summons will issue at this time, and the case will be dismissed if he does not comply.
Judge Laura Taylor Swain also denied fee-waiver status for any appeal, certifying that an appeal would not be taken in good faith.
The detailed version
- Hosein v. Mayorkas · No. 1:21-cv-04057
- Laura Swain
- July 2, 2021
Background
Sharaz Hosein brought this civil action without a lawyer. To proceed in the court, he had to either pay $402 in fees—$350 for filing and $52 for administrative costs—or submit a signed application to proceed without prepaying those fees.
Hosein submitted an application to proceed without prepayment. He stated that he was unemployed and had no sources of income. When asked how he paid his expenses, he said he was a caretaker for his elderly parent, who had physical and intellectual disabilities. He answered “NA” to questions about bank accounts, property, expenses, dependents, and debts.
Court’s Action
The court determined that Hosein’s answers did not provide enough information to establish that he could not pay the fees. The court therefore ordered him, within 30 days of the order, either to pay the $402 or to submit an amended application. The amended application had to include facts addressing his income, expenses, and assets and had to identify docket number 21-CV-4057 (LTS).
If the court grants the amended application, Hosein may proceed without prepaying the fees. If he does not comply within the permitted time, the action will be dismissed. The clerk was directed to mail him the order and record service on the docket. No summons will issue at this time.
The court also certified that an appeal from the order would not be taken in good faith and denied fee-waiver status for purposes of an appeal.
Read the full 2-page opinion on CourtListener, the free public archive maintained by the Free Law Project.