Commey v. De Blasio
- Ronnie Abrams
- 1:22-cv-00018
- U.S. District Court · Southern District of New York
- 2
In Commey v. De Blasio, Chief Judge Swain ordered Aaron Commey to pay fees or seek fee-free status before the case could proceed.
Aaron Commey, the self-represented plaintiff, must either pay the required fees or submit a completed fee-waiver application before the case can proceed; the defendant has not been served because no summons has issued.
What happened
In Commey v. De Blasio, Aaron Commey, who is representing himself, filed an action seeking emergency relief against Bill de Blasio in his official capacity as New York City’s mayor.
Commey did not pay the required $402 in filing and administrative fees or submit an application to proceed without paying those fees. The court said it could not take action until he did one of those things.
Chief Judge Laura Taylor Swain ordered Commey to pay the fees or submit a completed, signed application within 30 days. No summons will issue yet, and the action will be dismissed if he does not comply. The court also denied fee-free status for any appeal from this order.
The detailed version
- Commey v. De Blasio · No. 1:22-cv-00018
- Ronnie Abrams
- Jan. 3, 2022
Background
Aaron Commey, appearing without a lawyer, filed an action seeking emergency relief against Bill de Blasio in his official capacity as Mayor of the City of New York. Commey did not pay the required $402 in filing and administrative fees and did not submit an application to proceed without prepaying those fees.
Court’s order
The court explained that a plaintiff must either pay the filing and administrative fees or submit a signed application to proceed without prepayment of fees. Because Commey did neither, the court stated that it could not take action on the case until he complied.
The court ordered Commey, within 30 days of the order, to pay the fees or complete and submit the attached application. No summons will issue at this time. If Commey does not comply within the allowed period, the action will be dismissed. The court also certified that an appeal would not be taken in good faith and denied fee-free status for purposes of an appeal. The Clerk of Court was directed to mail Commey a copy of the order and note service on the docket.
Read the full 2-page opinion on CourtListener, the free public archive maintained by the Free Law Project.