Bey v. Yonkers City Court
- Laura Swain
- 1:22-cv-03166
- U.S. District Court · Southern District of New York
- 2
In Bey v. Yonkers City Court, Chief Judge Swain ordered E’Jai Bey to pay filing fees or submit an IFP application.
E’Jai Bey, who filed the action without a lawyer, must either pay the required fees or submit an application to proceed without prepayment within 30 days; otherwise, the action will be dismissed.
What happened
E’Jai Bey filed this case against Yonkers City Court without paying the required fees or submitting an application to proceed without paying them upfront. The opinion states that Bey was representing themself.
The court gave Bey 30 days to either pay $402 in fees or submit a signed application to proceed without prepayment. No summons would issue at that time, and the court said the action would be dismissed if Bey did not comply.
Chief Judge Laura Taylor Swain also certified that an appeal from this order would not be taken in good faith and denied permission to proceed without prepaying fees for that appeal.
The detailed version
- Bey v. Yonkers City Court · No. 1:22-cv-03166
- Laura Swain
- Apr. 18, 2022
Background
E’Jai Bey brought this civil action against Yonkers City Court. The opinion says Bey proceeded without a lawyer and submitted the complaint without paying the required fees or submitting an application to proceed without prepaying them.
Fee or application requirement
The court explained that a civil action requires either payment of $402 in fees—$350 for filing and $52 in administrative fees—or a signed application to proceed without prepayment of fees. The court ordered Bey, within 30 days, to do one of those two things. If Bey submitted the application, it was to identify docket number 22-CV-3166 (LTS). If the court granted the application, Bey would be allowed to proceed without paying the fees upfront.
Other directions and ruling
The court directed that no summons issue at that time and stated that the case would be processed through the Clerk’s Office if Bey complied. If Bey did not comply within the allowed time, the action would be dismissed. Chief Judge Laura Taylor Swain also certified that any appeal from the order would not be taken in good faith and denied permission to proceed without prepaying fees for that appeal. The order did not decide the underlying claims.
Read the full 2-page opinion on CourtListener, the free public archive maintained by the Free Law Project.