Ross v. Harrell
- Laura Swain
- 1:22-cv-01193
- U.S. District Court · Southern District of New York
- 2
Ross v. Harrell: Judge Swain ordered Ross to pay court fees or request permission to proceed without prepaying them within 30 days, or the action would be dismissed.
Darnell Ross, whom the court treated as the sole plaintiff, had to pay the required fees or submit a signed application to proceed without prepaying them within 30 days. The other named individuals were not treated as plaintiffs represented by Ross.
What happened
In Ross v. Harrell, Darnell Ross filed a complaint without paying the required $402 in court fees or submitting an application to proceed without prepaying fees. Only Ross signed the complaint.
The court said Ross could not represent the other named plaintiffs because he was not alleged to be a lawyer. It therefore treated Ross as the sole plaintiff and directed him to pay the fees or submit the required application within 30 days. No summons would be issued at that time.
Judge Laura Taylor Swain ordered that the action would be dismissed if Ross did not comply. She also denied permission to appeal without prepaying fees, certifying that an appeal would not be taken in good faith.
The detailed version
- Ross v. Harrell · No. 1:22-cv-01193
- Laura Swain
- Feb. 17, 2022
Background
Darnell Ross filed this action without paying the required filing and administrative fees and without submitting an application to proceed without prepaying fees. The required total was $402: a $350 filing fee and a $52 administrative fee.
Ross was the only plaintiff who signed the complaint. The complaint also named Jewel, Sharon Jennifer, James, Julian, Josh Jamar, Shaolia Maya, and Joe Hayes as plaintiffs. The court stated that Ross could not assert claims for those other people because he was proceeding without a lawyer and did not allege that he was an attorney. The court therefore treated Ross as the sole plaintiff.
Order
The court ordered Ross, within 30 days of the order, to either pay the $402 in fees or submit a signed application to proceed without prepaying fees. If Ross submitted the application, it had to identify docket number 22-CV-1193 (LTS). If the court granted the application, Ross would be allowed to proceed without paying the fees upfront.
No summons would issue at that time. The case would be processed under the Clerk’s Office procedures if Ross complied. If he failed to comply within the allowed time, the action would be dismissed.
The court also certified that any appeal from the order would not be taken in good faith and denied permission to appeal without prepaying fees. The Clerk of Court was directed to mail Ross a copy of the order and record service on the docket.
Read the full 2-page opinion on CourtListener, the free public archive maintained by the Free Law Project.