Finnegan v. T-Mobile
- Laura Swain
- 1:22-cv-00210
- U.S. District Court · Southern District of New York
- 2
In Finnegan v. T-Mobile, Judge Swain ordered Sean Matthew Finnegan to pay fees or file a complete application to proceed without prepayment.
Sean Matthew Finnegan, the unrepresented plaintiff, must either pay the court fees or submit a complete amended IFP application; T-Mobile is not required to respond yet.
What happened
In Finnegan v. T-Mobile, Sean Matthew Finnegan sued T-Mobile without a lawyer and asked to proceed without prepaying court fees. His application did not fully describe his finances.
The court said it could not decide the application because Finnegan left several questions unanswered, including questions about employment, income, and debts. It gave him 30 days to pay $402 in fees or submit an amended application answering all questions about his current finances.
Judge Laura Taylor Swain ordered that no summons issue yet and warned that the action will be dismissed if Finnegan does not comply. The court also denied fee-free status for any appeal from this order.
The detailed version
- Finnegan v. T-Mobile · No. 1:22-cv-00210
- Laura Swain
- Feb. 25, 2022
Background
Sean Matthew Finnegan brought this action against T-Mobile without a lawyer. To begin a civil action in the Southern District of New York, a plaintiff must either pay $402 in fees or submit a signed application to proceed without prepaying fees. This type of application is called an application to proceed in forma pauperis, or IFP.
Finnegan submitted an IFP application, but the court found that it did not provide enough financial information. He left unanswered the question asking for his employer's name and address, if employed. Although he reported zero gross monthly wages and zero take-home pay, he did not answer questions about several other financial matters. He also listed "medical bills" in response to a question about debts and financial obligations, without providing the additional information the court needed to understand how he paid his expenses.
Court's action
The court did not rule on whether Finnegan qualified for IFP status because the application was incomplete. Within 30 days of the order, Finnegan must either pay the $402 filing and administrative fees or submit an amended IFP application. The amended application must answer every question based on his current financial situation and provide facts showing that he cannot pay the fees.
If the court grants the amended IFP application, Finnegan may proceed without prepaying the fees. No summons will issue at this time. If he complies with the order, the case will be processed under the Clerk's Office procedures; if he does not comply within the deadline, the action will be dismissed.
Appeal and service
The court certified that an appeal from this order would not be taken in good faith and denied IFP status for purposes of an appeal. The Clerk of Court was directed to mail the order to Finnegan and record service on the docket.
Result
The court ordered payment of the fees or submission of an amended IFP application. It did not decide the underlying claims against T-Mobile.
Read the full 2-page opinion on CourtListener, the free public archive maintained by the Free Law Project.