Liner v. Hochul
- Edgardo Ramos
- 1:21-cv-11116
- U.S. District Court · Southern District of New York
- 2
In Liner v. Hochul, Chief Judge Swain ordered a $405 refund and required Joshua Liner to pay $402 or seek a fee waiver before proceeding.
Joshua Liner, who was required to correct his filing-fee submission or apply to proceed without paying the fee; the action could be dismissed if he did not comply.
What happened
In Liner v. Hochul, Joshua Liner was proceeding without a lawyer. The court had previously directed him to pay the $402 filing fee or submit an application to proceed without paying the fee.
Liner paid $405 by money order. The court ordered the Clerk of Court to refund that amount and directed Liner, within 30 days, to pay exactly $402 or submit a completed and signed fee-waiver application.
The order, signed by Chief Judge Laura Taylor Swain, stated that no summons would issue yet. If Liner complied, the case would proceed under the Clerk’s procedures; if he did not, the action would be dismissed. The court also denied fee-free status for any appeal from the order.
The detailed version
- Liner v. Hochul · No. 1:21-cv-11116
- Edgardo Ramos
- Feb. 7, 2022
Background
Joshua Liner, who appeared without a lawyer, brought this action against Kathy Hochul and other defendants. In an earlier order dated January 10, 2022, the court directed Liner within 30 days either to pay the $402 filing fee or to submit a completed and signed application to proceed without paying the fee.
On February 3, 2022, Liner paid $405 by money order.
Court’s action
The court directed the Clerk of Court to issue Liner a $405 refund. It also directed Liner, within 30 days of the February 7 order, either to pay exactly $402 in filing fees or to complete, sign, and submit the attached application to proceed without paying the fee.
The court directed the Clerk to mail Liner a copy of the order and record service on the docket. No summons was to issue at that time. If Liner complied, the action would be processed under the Clerk’s procedures. If he failed to comply within the allowed time, the action would be dismissed.
Appeal and disposition
Chief Judge Laura Taylor Swain certified under 28 U.S.C. § 1915(a)(3) that an appeal from the order would not be taken in good faith. The court therefore denied fee-free status for purposes of an appeal. The order did not itself dismiss the action.
Read the full 2-page opinion on CourtListener, the free public archive maintained by the Free Law Project.