Armstead v. Prince Andrew
- Laura Swain
- 1:22-cv-00430
- U.S. District Court · Southern District of New York
- 2
In Armstead v. Prince Andrew, Judge Swain ordered Armstead to pay fees or apply to proceed without prepayment within 30 days.
Brenda C. Armstead, who filed the action without a lawyer, must either pay the required fees or submit an application to proceed without prepayment within 30 days.
What happened
Armstead v. Prince Andrew concerns Brenda C. Armstead’s complaint against Prince Andrew and the United States. She filed the case without paying the required fees or submitting an application to proceed without prepaying them, and she is representing herself.
The court ordered Armstead, within 30 days, either to pay $402 in filing and administrative fees or submit a signed application to proceed without prepayment. The court also directed the Clerk to mail her the order, and no summons will issue at this time. If she does not comply, the action will be dismissed.
Judge Laura Taylor Swain also ruled that any appeal from this order would not be taken in good faith and denied permission to appeal without prepaying fees. The order did not address the underlying claims.
The detailed version
- Armstead v. Prince Andrew · No. 1:22-cv-00430
- Laura Swain
- Feb. 1, 2022
Background
Brenda C. Armstead filed this civil action without a lawyer. The opinion states that she did not pay the required fees and did not submit an application to proceed without prepayment of fees. The defendants listed in the caption are Prince Andrew and the United States.
Order
The court explained that a plaintiff must either pay $402—consisting of a $350 filing fee and a $52 administrative fee—or submit a signed application to proceed without prepayment of fees. This procedure is commonly called an application to proceed in forma pauperis, meaning an application to proceed without paying the fees in advance.
The court ordered Armstead to take one of those steps within 30 days of the order. If she submits the application, it must identify docket number 22-CV-0430 (LTS). If the court grants the application, she may proceed without prepaying the fees. The Clerk was directed to mail Armstead a copy of the order and record service on the docket. No summons shall issue at this time.
Disposition
The court did not decide the underlying claims. It stated that the action will be dismissed if Armstead does not comply within the allowed period. The court also certified that an appeal from the order would not be taken in good faith and denied permission to appeal without prepaying fees. Judge Laura Taylor Swain signed the order as Chief United States District Judge.
Read the full 2-page opinion on CourtListener, the free public archive maintained by the Free Law Project.