Jordan-Rowell v. United States

Background

Janessa Jordan-Rowell filed a civil action without paying the required fees and without submitting an application to proceed without prepaying fees. The opinion does not describe the claims in the complaint beyond identifying the Internal Revenue Service as the defendant. Jordan-Rowell was proceeding without a lawyer.

Court’s order

The court explained that filing a civil action required either payment of a $350 filing fee and a $52 administrative fee, for a total of $402, or a signed application requesting permission to proceed without prepaying fees. The court ordered Jordan-Rowell, within 30 days of the order, to pay the $402 or submit the attached application. If the application were granted, she would be allowed to proceed without prepaying fees.

The court directed that no summons issue at that time. It stated that, if Jordan-Rowell complied, the case would be processed under the Clerk’s Office procedures, but that the action would be dismissed if she did not comply within the allowed time.

Appeal and disposition

Judge Laura Taylor Swain certified under 28 U.S.C. § 1915(a)(3) that an appeal from the order would not be taken in good faith and denied fee-free status for purposes of an appeal. This was a procedural order about payment of fees and the application process; it did not decide the underlying claims.