Ingram IV v. Cuomo

Background

The plaintiff originally filed the matter as a miscellaneous action and paid a $49 filing fee. In an earlier order, the court directed the Clerk of Court to administratively close that miscellaneous action and reopen it as a new civil action assigned to Judge Ramos. The opinion states that the new action was assigned docket number 1:22-CV-5067 (ER).

The plaintiff was proceeding without a lawyer. To proceed with a civil action, the plaintiff had to pay $402— consisting of a $350 filing fee and a $52 administrative fee—or submit a completed and signed application to proceed without prepaying fees. The plaintiff had done neither: only the $49 miscellaneous-action fee had been paid, and no fee-waiver application had been submitted.

Court’s Orders

The court directed the Clerk of Court to refund the $49 fee paid in the miscellaneous action and to send the plaintiff a copy of the order. It ordered the plaintiff, within 30 days of the order, to do one of two things: pay the full $402 or complete, sign, and submit the attached application to proceed without prepaying fees, identifying docket number 1:22-CV-5067 (ER). If the court later granted that application, the plaintiff could proceed in the new civil action without paying the fees in advance.

The court ordered that no summons issue at that time. It stated that the new civil action would be processed under the Clerk of Court’s procedures if the plaintiff complied. If the plaintiff failed to comply within the allowed time, the new civil action would be dismissed. The court also certified that an appeal from the order would not be taken in good faith and denied authorization to proceed without prepaying fees for an appeal.

Effect of the Order

This order addressed filing-fee requirements and the case’s administrative processing; it did not decide the plaintiff’s underlying claims against the defendants. The order was signed by Edgardo Ramos, United States District Judge, on June 22, 2022.