Romero v. Bussanich
- Laura Swain
- 1:22-cv-10909
- U.S. District Court · Southern District of New York
- 4
In Romero v. Bussanich, Judge Swain ordered the incarcerated plaintiff to pay filing fees or submit an application to proceed without prepayment.
Ludwig Crisis Zelaya Romero, who must either pay the required fees or submit a completed application to proceed without prepaying fees within 30 days to avoid dismissal of the action.
What happened
Romero v. Bussanich concerns a civil case filed by Ludwig Crisis Zelaya Romero, who was incarcerated at USP Yazoo City and represented himself. He submitted a complaint and a prisoner authorization but did not submit a completed application to proceed without prepaying fees.
The court gave Romero 30 days to either pay $402 in filing and administrative fees or submit the completed application. If the court approves the application, the $350 filing fee will be collected from his account in installments, while the $52 administrative fee will not apply.
The court ordered that no summons issue yet and said the case would be processed if Romero complied; otherwise, the action would be dismissed. Judge Laura Taylor Swain also denied permission to appeal without prepaying fees, finding that an appeal would not be taken in good faith.
The detailed version
- Romero v. Bussanich · No. 1:22-cv-10909
- Laura Swain
- Dec. 28, 2022
Background
Ludwig Crisis Zelaya Romero filed this civil action without a lawyer. The opinion states that he was incarcerated at USP Yazoo City. Romero submitted the complaint with a prisoner authorization, but he did not submit a completed application to proceed without prepaying filing fees.
Order
The court directed Romero, within 30 days of the order, to do one of two things: pay $402 in fees, consisting of a $350 filing fee and a $52 administrative fee, or submit a completed application to proceed without prepaying fees. The court explained that if Romero’s application is granted, the Prison Litigation Reform Act requires collection of the $350 filing fee through installments deducted from his account. The $52 administrative fee does not apply to a person granted this status.
Effect of the Order
The court ordered that no summons issue at that time. It stated that the case would be processed under the Clerk’s Office procedures if Romero complied with the order, but that the action would be dismissed if he did not comply within the allowed time. The court also certified that an appeal would not be taken in good faith and denied permission to appeal without prepaying fees. The order did not address the underlying claims in the complaint.
Read the full 4-page opinion on CourtListener, the free public archive maintained by the Free Law Project.