Hickman v. Commissioner of Social Security
- Laura Swain
- 1:23-cv-02050
- U.S. District Court · Southern District of New York
- 4
In Hickman v. Commissioner, Judge Swain ordered payment or a fee-waiver application within 30 days before the case could proceed.
Kadajia Hickman, who was required to pay $402 or submit a signed application to proceed without prepaying fees within 30 days.
What happened
In Hickman v. Commissioner of Social Security, Kadajia Hickman filed a lawsuit without paying the required fees or submitting an application to proceed without prepaying them. The order does not address the underlying Social Security dispute.
The court gave Hickman 30 days to pay $402 or submit a signed application to proceed without prepaying fees. No summons would issue at that time, and the action would be dismissed if Hickman did not comply.
Judge Laura Taylor Swain also ruled that an appeal from the order would not be taken in good faith and denied fee-waiver status for an appeal.
The detailed version
- Hickman v. Commissioner of Social Security · No. 1:23-cv-02050
- Laura Swain
- Apr. 3, 2023
Background
Kadajia Hickman brought this action pro se, meaning without a lawyer. The opinion states that Hickman filed the complaint without paying the required filing and administrative fees and without submitting an application to proceed without prepaying fees.
Order
The court ordered Hickman, within 30 days of the order, to do one of two things: pay $402 in fees, consisting of a $350 filing fee and a $52 administrative fee, or submit the attached signed application to proceed without prepaying fees. The application was to identify docket number 23-CV-2050 (LTS). If the court granted the application, Hickman would be allowed to proceed without paying the fees in advance.
The court directed that no summons issue at that time. It stated that, if Hickman complied with the order, the case would be processed under the Clerk’s Office procedures. If Hickman did not comply within the allowed time, the action would be dismissed.
Appeal-fee ruling
The court certified that any appeal from the order would not be taken in good faith and denied permission to proceed without prepaying fees for an appeal.
Result
The order did not decide the underlying Social Security claim. It required payment of the fees or submission of the fee-waiver application before the case could proceed.
Read the full 4-page opinion on CourtListener, the free public archive maintained by the Free Law Project.