Chan v. Social Security Administration
- Andrew Carter
- 1:22-cv-00906
- U.S. District Court · Southern District of New York
- 2
In Chan v. Social Security Administration, Judge Carter required an acceptable $402 payment before the case could proceed.
Lawrence Chan, whose case could be dismissed if he did not pay the $402 fee in an accepted form within 30 days.
What happened
Lawrence Chan filed Chan v. Social Security Administration without a lawyer, naming the agency and several unknown agency workers and supervisors as defendants.
The court said Chan had to pay $402 to bring the case or submit a signed request to proceed without paying the fees upfront. His personal check was not an accepted payment method, so the court ordered him to pay by certified check, money order, major credit card, or cash within 30 days.
The court did not issue a summons and said the case would be dismissed if Chan did not pay on time. Judge Andrew L. Carter, Jr. also denied permission to proceed without paying fees for any appeal from this order.
The detailed version
- Chan v. Social Security Administration · No. 1:22-cv-00906
- Andrew Carter
- Feb. 7, 2022
Background
Lawrence Chan filed this action without a lawyer against the Social Security Administration, Unknown Bruno, Unknown Yam, Unknown Ho, and Unknown Rimpel. The opinion states that Chan submitted the complaint with a $402 payment by personal check.
Court’s Analysis
The court explained that filing a civil action required either payment of a $350 filing fee and a $52 administrative fee, or a signed application requesting permission to proceed without paying the fees upfront. A personal check was not an acceptable form of payment. The court therefore directed Chan to pay the $402 by certified check, money order, major credit card, or cash within 30 days. It directed the court’s Cashiers Unit to return his personal check.
Ruling
The court ordered that no summons issue at that time and directed Chan to pay the $402 using an accepted payment method within 30 days. It stated that the action would be dismissed if he failed to comply within that period. The court also certified that an appeal from the order would not be taken in good faith and denied permission to proceed without paying fees for purposes of an appeal. Judge Andrew L. Carter, Jr. signed the order.
Read the full 2-page opinion on CourtListener, the free public archive maintained by the Free Law Project.