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S.D.N.Y.Procedural orderFiled Nov. 22, 2022

Walter v. Blinken

Judge
Laura Swain
Docket
1:22-cv-09414
Court
U.S. District Court · Southern District of New York
Pages
2
Civil ProcedurePro Se
In one sentence

In Walter v. Blinken, Judge Swain ordered Sanders Walter, II to pay $402 or submit an IFP application within 30 days.

Who this affects

Sanders Walter, II, who filed the action without a lawyer, must either pay the required fees or submit an application to proceed without prepaying them. The case may be dismissed if he does not comply within 30 days.

What happened

In Walter v. Blinken, Sanders Walter, II brought the action without a lawyer but did not pay the required filing and administrative fees or submit an application to proceed without prepaying those fees.

The court ordered Walter to pay $402 or submit a signed application to proceed without prepayment within 30 days. The court said no summons would issue at that time and that the action would be dismissed if Walter did not comply.

Judge Laura Taylor Swain also denied permission to appeal without prepaying fees, finding that any appeal from the order would not be taken in good faith. The order did not decide the underlying claims.

The detailed version

For law students, journalists, and other readers who want the full reasoning

Case
Walter v. Blinken · No. 1:22-cv-09414
Judge
Laura Swain
Date
Nov. 22, 2022

Background

Sanders Walter, II filed this civil action without a lawyer against Antony John Blinken and other defendants. Walter submitted the complaint without paying the required fees and without submitting an application to proceed without prepaying fees. The opinion does not describe the underlying claims.

Order

The court explained that starting a civil action required payment of $402: a $350 filing fee and a $52 administrative fee. Alternatively, Walter could request permission to proceed without prepayment by submitting a signed application under 28 U.S.C. § 1915.

The court gave Walter 30 days from the date of the order to pay the $402 or submit the application. If Walter submitted the application and the court granted it, he could proceed without prepaying the fees. The court ordered that no summons issue at that time. It stated that the action would be dismissed if Walter did not comply within the allowed time.

Disposition

Judge Laura Taylor Swain directed payment of the fee or submission of the application. The court also certified that an appeal from the order would not be taken in good faith and denied permission to appeal without prepaying fees. The order did not reach the merits of Walter's claims.

The authoritative version

Read the full 2-page opinion on CourtListener, the free public archive maintained by the Free Law Project.

Open opinion PDF →
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