Rivera v. Putnam County
- Vincent Briccetti
- 7:22-cv-01877
- U.S. District Court · Southern District of New York
- 2
In Rivera v. Putnam County, Chief Judge Swain ordered Rivera to pay fees or submit an application to waive them.
Humberto Rivera Jr., who must either pay $402 in fees or submit a signed application to proceed without prepaying fees within 30 days.
What happened
In Rivera v. Putnam County, Humberto Rivera Jr. filed a complaint without paying the required fees or submitting an application to waive them. He is representing himself.
The court ordered Rivera, within 30 days, either to pay $402 in filing and administrative fees or submit a signed application to proceed without prepaying fees. No summons would issue at that time. The court said the action would be dismissed if he did not comply.
Chief Judge Laura Taylor Swain also certified that an appeal from the order would not be taken in good faith and denied fee-waiver status for an appeal. The order did not decide the merits of Rivera’s claims.
The detailed version
- Rivera v. Putnam County · No. 7:22-cv-01877
- Vincent Briccetti
- Mar. 17, 2022
Background
Humberto Rivera Jr. brought this civil action without a lawyer. He submitted a complaint but did not pay the required fees and did not submit an application to proceed without prepaying fees. The court explained that the required amount was $402: a $350 filing fee and a $52 administrative fee.
Order
The court ordered Rivera to do one of two things within 30 days of the order: pay the $402 in fees or submit a signed application to proceed without prepaying fees. If the court grants that application, Rivera may proceed without paying the fees in advance. The application should identify docket number 22-CV-1877 (LTS).
The court directed that no summons issue at that time. It stated that, if Rivera complied, the case would be processed under the Clerk’s Office procedures. If he did not comply within the allowed time, the action would be dismissed.
Appeal and disposition
Chief United States District Judge Laura Taylor Swain certified under 28 U.S.C. § 1915(a)(3) that an appeal from the order would not be taken in good faith. The court therefore denied permission to proceed without prepaying fees for an appeal. This order addressed filing-fee requirements and did not decide Rivera’s underlying claims.
Read the full 2-page opinion on CourtListener, the free public archive maintained by the Free Law Project.