Reid v. Mckelvey
- Laura Swain
- 1:22-cv-10708
- U.S. District Court · Southern District of New York
- 2
In Reid v. McKelvey, Judge Swain ordered Reid to pay $402 using an acceptable method instead of a personal check or face dismissal.
Jessica Nicole Reid must pay the $402 fee using an accepted payment method within 30 days or the action will be dismissed. Her personal check is to be returned, and no summons will issue for now.
What happened
In Reid v. McKelvey, Jessica Nicole Reid filed the action without paying the required fees or submitting an application to proceed without paying them upfront. The court identifies Reid as representing herself.
The court had previously given Reid 30 days to pay the fees or submit a completed application. Reid then sent a $402 personal check, but the court said personal checks are not accepted.
Judge Laura Taylor Swain ordered Reid to pay the $402 within 30 days by certified check, money order, major credit card, or cash in person. No summons will issue for now, and the action will be dismissed if she does not comply. The court also directed that her personal check be returned and denied permission to appeal without paying fees.
The detailed version
- Reid v. Mckelvey · No. 1:22-cv-10708
- Laura Swain
- Dec. 29, 2022
Background
Jessica Nicole Reid brought this action representing herself. To begin a civil action in the Southern District of New York, a plaintiff must either pay $402 in fees—a $350 filing fee and a $52 administrative fee—or submit a signed application to proceed without prepaying fees, commonly called an IFP application.
The court received Reid’s complaint without the fees or an IFP application. In an order dated December 27, 2022, the court directed her, within 30 days, to pay the fees or submit a completed and signed IFP application. The court later received Reid’s $402 personal check, but personal checks are not an accepted form of payment.
Order
The court directed Reid to pay the $402 within 30 days of the December 29, 2022, order. Payment must be made by certified check or money order payable to the Clerk of Court for the Southern District of New York, by major credit card, or in cash if paid in person. The payment must include case number 22-CV-10708 (LTS). The court directed its Finance Department to return Reid’s personal check.
No summons will issue at this time. The order states that the action will be dismissed if Reid does not make the required payment within the permitted period. The court also certified that any appeal from the order would not be taken in good faith and denied IFP status for purposes of an appeal.
Disposition
This was a procedural order concerning payment of filing fees. It did not decide the underlying claims against the defendants.
Read the full 2-page opinion on CourtListener, the free public archive maintained by the Free Law Project.