Berry v. U.S. Treasury Department
- Laura Swain
- 1:23-cv-00916
- U.S. District Court · Southern District of New York
- 4
In Berry v. U.S. Treasury Department, Judge Swain ordered Berry to pay $402 or submit an application to proceed without prepaying fees.
Duane L. Berry, whose case could proceed only after he paid the required fees or submitted an IFP application, and whose action would be dismissed if he did neither within 30 days.
What happened
In Berry v. U.S. Treasury Department, Duane L. Berry brought a civil action without a lawyer but did not pay the required fees or submit an application to proceed without prepaying them.
The court gave Berry 30 days to pay $402, consisting of a $350 filing fee and a $52 administrative fee, or submit a signed application. No summons would issue at that time, and the action would be dismissed if Berry did not comply.
Judge Swain also stated that any appeal from the order would not be taken in good faith and denied permission to appeal without prepaying fees. The order did not address the claims in the lawsuit.
The detailed version
- Berry v. U.S. Treasury Department · No. 1:23-cv-00916
- Laura Swain
- Feb. 15, 2023
Background
Duane L. Berry filed this civil action without a lawyer. The opinion states that Berry submitted the complaint without paying the required fees and without submitting an application to proceed without prepaying fees, commonly called an IFP application.
Order
The court explained that filing a civil action required either payment of $402— a $350 filing fee plus a $52 administrative fee—or a signed IFP application under 28 U.S.C. §§ 1914 and 1915. The court ordered Berry, within 30 days of the order, to pay the fees or submit the attached IFP application. If Berry submitted the application, it was to identify docket number 23-CV-0916 (LTS). The court stated that, if it granted the application, Berry would be allowed to proceed without prepaying fees.
No summons would issue at that time. If Berry complied, the case would be processed under the Clerk’s Office procedures. If Berry failed to comply within the allowed period, the action would be dismissed.
Appeal and Disposition
Judge Laura Taylor Swain certified that any appeal from the order would not be taken in good faith and denied IFP status for purposes of an appeal. This order addressed payment of the filing fee or submission of an IFP application; it did not decide the claims in the action.
Read the full 4-page opinion on CourtListener, the free public archive maintained by the Free Law Project.