Jordan-Rowell v. Internal Revenue Service
- Laura Swain
- 1:22-cv-01632
- U.S. District Court · Southern District of New York
- 1
In Jordan-Rowell v. Internal Revenue Service, Judge Swain ordered the pro se plaintiff to pay fees or submit an IFP application within 30 days.
Janessa Jordan-Rowell, who filed the action without a lawyer and was required to pay the fees or submit an application to proceed without prepayment.
What happened
Jordan-Rowell v. Internal Revenue Service began when Janessa Jordan-Rowell filed a complaint without paying the required fees or submitting an application to proceed without paying them upfront.
The court ordered her, within 30 days, to either pay $402 in filing and administrative fees or submit a signed application to proceed without prepayment. No summons could be issued at that time.
Judge Laura Taylor Swain stated that the action would be dismissed if Jordan-Rowell did not comply. The judge also denied permission to appeal without prepaying fees, finding that any appeal would not be taken in good faith.
The detailed version
- Jordan-Rowell v. Internal Revenue Service · No. 1:22-cv-01632
- Laura Swain
- Feb. 28, 2022
Background Janessa Jordan-Rowell brought the action pro se, meaning without a lawyer. She submitted a complaint but did not pay the required fees or submit an application to proceed without prepaying them.
Fee requirement The court explained that starting a civil action required either payment of $402—consisting of a $350 filing fee and a $52 administrative fee—or a signed application to proceed without prepayment of fees, commonly called an IFP application. The court gave Jordan-Rowell 30 days from the order’s date to pay the fees or submit the application. If she submitted the application, it had to identify docket number 22-CV-1632 (LTS).
Order The court directed Jordan-Rowell to pay the fees or submit the IFP application within the allowed period. It ordered that no summons issue at that time and stated that the action would be dismissed if she failed to comply. Judge Laura Taylor Swain also certified that any appeal from the order would not be taken in good faith and denied permission to appeal without prepaying fees. The order did not decide the underlying claims against the Internal Revenue Service.
Read the full 1-page opinion on CourtListener, the free public archive maintained by the Free Law Project.