Johnson v. EPA Canada
- Laura Swain
- 1:22-cv-05884
- U.S. District Court · Southern District of New York
- 2
In Johnson v. EPA Canada, Judge Swain ordered pro se plaintiff Clarence D. Johnson, Jr. to pay fees or submit an application to proceed without prepayment.
Clarence D. Johnson, Jr., who filed the action without a lawyer; the order also concerns the pending action against EPA Canada and the other defendants.
What happened
In Johnson v. EPA Canada, Clarence D. Johnson, Jr. filed a complaint without paying the required fees or submitting an application to proceed without prepayment of fees. The order does not describe the underlying claims.
The court gave Johnson 30 days to pay $402 or submit a completed and signed fee-waiver application. No summons would issue at that time, and the court said it would dismiss the action if he did not comply.
Judge Laura Taylor Swain also certified that an appeal would not be taken in good faith and denied fee-waiver status for an appeal. The order did not decide the underlying claims.
The detailed version
- Johnson v. EPA Canada · No. 1:22-cv-05884
- Laura Swain
- July 12, 2022
Background
Clarence D. Johnson, Jr. brought the action without a lawyer. The opinion does not describe the claims against EPA Canada or the other defendants. Johnson filed the complaint without paying the required fees and without submitting an application to proceed without prepayment of fees.
Order
The court explained that a civil action in the district court requires payment of $402: a $350 filing fee and a $52 administrative fee. Alternatively, a plaintiff may request permission to proceed without paying those fees in advance by submitting a signed application under 28 U.S.C. § 1915.
The court ordered Johnson, within 30 days of the order, either to pay the $402 or to complete, sign, and submit the attached fee-waiver application. The application was to identify docket number 1:22-CV-5884 (LTS). If the court granted the application, Johnson would be allowed to proceed without paying the fees in advance.
No summons would issue at that time. The court stated that the action would be processed through the Clerk’s Office if Johnson complied, but that the court would dismiss the action if he did not comply within the allowed time.
Appeal-fee ruling
The court certified under 28 U.S.C. § 1915(a)(3) that any appeal from the order would not be taken in good faith. It therefore denied permission to proceed without prepaying fees for an appeal.
Result
Judge Laura Taylor Swain directed Johnson to pay the fees or submit the required application. The order did not reach the merits of the lawsuit.
Read the full 2-page opinion on CourtListener, the free public archive maintained by the Free Law Project.