Boomer v. Ramirez
- Laura Swain
- 1:23-cv-01298
- U.S. District Court · Southern District of New York
- 4
In Boomer v. Ramirez, Judge Swain ordered Samantha Boomer to pay filing fees or submit a corrected fee-waiver application within 30 days.
Samantha Boomer, whose request to proceed without prepaying court fees was not decided because the application lacked sufficient financial information; she was given 30 days to pay the fees or submit an amended application.
What happened
In Boomer v. Ramirez, Samantha Boomer sued Mildred Ramirez and others without a lawyer and asked to proceed without paying court fees in advance. The court found that her application did not provide enough information about her income and how she paid her expenses.
The court ordered Boomer, within 30 days, either to pay $402 in fees or submit an amended application explaining why she could not pay. No summons would issue at that time, and the action would be dismissed if she did not comply.
Judge Laura Taylor Swain also denied fee-waiver status for any appeal, certifying that an appeal would not be taken in good faith.
The detailed version
- Boomer v. Ramirez · No. 1:23-cv-01298
- Laura Swain
- Feb. 24, 2023
Background
Samantha Boomer brought this civil action without a lawyer. To proceed without paying court fees in advance, she submitted an application to proceed without prepaying fees, commonly called an IFP application. The court explained that the required fees were $402: a $350 filing fee and a $52 administrative fee.
Boomer’s application stated that she was unemployed and had no income. She reported paying her expenses with “US American benefits,” but did not explain what those benefits were. She also reported having $1 in the bank, owning jewelry, and having monthly housing, transportation, and utility expenses. She stated that she had no dependents and no debts or other financial obligations.
Court’s Analysis
The court concluded that Boomer had not provided enough information about her income and how she paid her expenses. Because of that missing information, the court could not determine whether she had enough funds to pay the filing fees and could not rule on her IFP application.
Ruling
Judge Laura Taylor Swain ordered Boomer, within 30 days of the order, either to pay the $402 in fees or submit an amended IFP application. The amended application had to identify docket number 23-CV-1298 (LTS) and provide facts establishing that Boomer could not pay the fees. If the court granted the amended application, Boomer would be permitted to proceed without paying the fees in advance. No summons would issue at that time. The order stated that the action would be dismissed if Boomer failed to comply within the 30-day 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.
Read the full 4-page opinion on CourtListener, the free public archive maintained by the Free Law Project.