Wood v. Mutual Redevelopment Houses, Inc.
- Analisa Torres
- 1:22-cv-09493
- U.S. District Court · Southern District of New York
- 2
In Wood v. Mutual Redevelopment Houses, Inc., Judge Swain ordered plaintiffs to pay fees or submit applications to proceed without prepayment.
The three plaintiffs—Tzvee Wood, Andrea Malester, and Alexis Gottschalk—must either pay the required fees or each submit an application to proceed without prepayment within 30 days, or the action will be dismissed. The defendants were not required to respond at this stage.
What happened
In Wood v. Mutual Redevelopment Houses, Inc., three plaintiffs filed a civil action without paying the required fees or submitting applications to proceed without prepayment. The opinion says they were representing themselves.
Judge Swain ordered each plaintiff, within 30 days, either to pay $402 in fees or submit a signed application asking to proceed without prepayment. The court said no summons would issue at that time.
If the plaintiffs comply, the clerk’s office will process the case under its procedures; if they do not, the action will be dismissed. Judge Laura Taylor Swain also denied permission to appeal without prepaying fees, finding that any appeal would not be taken in good faith.
The detailed version
- Wood v. Mutual Redevelopment Houses, Inc. · No. 1:22-cv-09493
- Analisa Torres
- Nov. 23, 2022
Background
Tzvee Wood, Andrea Malester, and Alexis Gottschalk filed this civil action without a lawyer. They did not pay the required filing fees and did not submit applications asking to proceed without prepaying those fees.
Order
The court explained that beginning a civil action requires either payment of $402—consisting of a $350 filing fee and a $52 administrative fee—or a signed application from each plaintiff requesting permission to proceed without prepayment of fees.
The court gave the plaintiffs 30 days from the order’s date to pay the $402 or for each plaintiff to submit the required application, labeled with docket number 22-CV-9493. If the court grants the applications, the plaintiffs may proceed without prepaying the fees. No summons will issue at this time. If the plaintiffs do not comply within the allowed period, the action will be dismissed.
Appeal ruling
The court certified that any appeal from this order would not be taken in good faith and denied permission to appeal without prepaying fees. The order was signed by Chief United States District Judge Laura Taylor Swain.
Read the full 2-page opinion on CourtListener, the free public archive maintained by the Free Law Project.