Vinluan v. Whateley
- Nelson Roman
- 7:22-cv-00788
- U.S. District Court · Southern District of New York
- 2
In Vinluan v. Whateley, Judge Swain ordered the pro se plaintiff to pay $402 or submit an application to proceed without prepaying fees.
Maria Theresa C. Vinluan, who was required to pay the fees or submit an application to proceed without prepaying them within 30 days.
What happened
In Vinluan v. Whateley, Maria Theresa C. Vinluan filed a civil action without paying the required fees or submitting an application to proceed without prepaying them. The opinion does not address the underlying claims.
The court gave Vinluan 30 days to pay $402 or submit a signed application for permission to proceed without prepaying fees. No summons would issue at that time. The order states that failing to comply would result in dismissal of the action.
Judge Laura Taylor Swain also ruled that an appeal from the order would not be taken in good faith and denied permission to proceed without prepaying fees for an appeal. The Clerk was directed to mail the order to Vinluan and record service.
The detailed version
- Vinluan v. Whateley · No. 7:22-cv-00788
- Nelson Roman
- Feb. 14, 2022
Background
Maria Theresa C. Vinluan brought this action without a lawyer. She submitted the complaint without paying the required filing and administrative fees and without submitting an application to proceed without prepaying fees.
Order
The court explained that starting a civil action required either paying $402—consisting of a $350 filing fee and a $52 administrative fee—or submitting a signed application to proceed without prepaying fees. The court ordered Vinluan, within 30 days of the order, to do one of those two things. If she submitted the application, it was to identify docket number 22-CV-0788 (LTS). The court stated that, if the application were granted, she could proceed without prepaying the fees.
No summons would issue at that time. The court stated that the case would be processed under the Clerk’s Office procedures if Vinluan complied, but that the action would be dismissed if she did not comply within the allowed time.
Appeal and Service
The court certified under 28 U.S.C. § 1915(a)(3) that an appeal from the order would not be taken in good faith and denied permission to proceed without prepaying fees for an appeal. The Clerk was directed to mail a copy of the order to Vinluan and note service on the docket.
Disposition
This was an order requiring payment of fees or submission of an application to proceed without prepaying fees. It did not decide the merits of Vinluan’s claims.
Read the full 2-page opinion on CourtListener, the free public archive maintained by the Free Law Project.