Madson v. Fato
- Laura Swain
- 1:23-cv-01482
- U.S. District Court · Southern District of New York
- 2
In Madson v. Fato, Judge Swain ordered personal checks returned and gave Madson 30 days to pay filing fees or face dismissal without prejudice.
Joshua O. Madson and his civil action are affected: the personal checks must be returned, and the action will be dismissed without prejudice if the $402 filing fee is not paid properly within 30 days.
What happened
In Madson v. Fato, Joshua O. Madson submitted two personal checks totaling $402 to pay the filing fee for his civil action. The court had previously directed him to either submit a completed request to proceed without paying the fee upfront or pay the fee.
The court said personal checks were not an acceptable payment method and directed the Clerk of Court to return them. It gave Madson 30 days to pay the $402 fee by certified check, money order, major credit card, or cash paid in person.
Chief United States District Judge Laura Taylor Swain ordered that the action will be dismissed without prejudice if Madson does not pay within 30 days using an acceptable method. She also denied permission to proceed without paying the fee for any appeal, certifying that an appeal would not be taken in good faith.
The detailed version
- Madson v. Fato · No. 1:23-cv-01482
- Laura Swain
- Mar. 13, 2023
Background
The court had directed Joshua O. Madson to submit a completed request to proceed without paying the filing fee upfront, or to pay the $402 fee required to file a civil action. The opinion states that this direction was issued on March 2, 2003. On March 9, 2023, the court received two personal checks from Madson: one for $350 and one for $52.
Court’s Action
The court stated that personal checks were not an acceptable form of payment for the case. It directed the Clerk of Court to return both checks to Madson. The court also directed Madson to pay the $402 fee within 30 days using an acceptable method: certified check or money order payable to the Clerk of Court for the Southern District of New York, major credit card, or cash paid in person. Any certified check or money order must include case number 23-CV-1482 (LTS).
Disposition
The order does not decide the underlying claims. It states that if Madson does not pay the filing fee within 30 days using an acceptable payment method, the action will be dismissed without prejudice, meaning the order does not bar him from refiling the action. Chief United States District Judge Laura Taylor Swain also certified that any appeal from the order would not be taken in good faith and denied permission to proceed without paying the fee for purposes of an appeal.
Read the full 2-page opinion on CourtListener, the free public archive maintained by the Free Law Project.