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S.D.N.Y.Procedural orderFiled Apr. 20, 2023

Matthew v. Egopija

Judge
Laura Swain
Docket
1:23-cv-03221
Court
U.S. District Court · Southern District of New York
Pages
4
Civil ProcedurePro Se
In one sentence

In Matthew v. Egopija, Judge Swain ordered Izeh Matthew to pay $402 or submit an application to proceed without prepaying fees.

Who this affects

Izeh Matthew must either pay the required fees or submit an application to proceed without prepaying them; the case will not proceed to summons issuance unless Matthew complies.

What happened

In Matthew v. Egopija, Izeh Matthew filed a civil action without paying the required fees or submitting an application to proceed without prepaying them. The opinion states that Matthew is representing himself.

The court gave Matthew 30 days from April 20, 2023, to pay $402 or submit the attached application. No summons will issue yet, and the case will be processed if Matthew complies; otherwise, the action will be dismissed.

Chief Judge Laura Taylor Swain also ruled that any appeal from this order would not be taken in good faith and denied permission to appeal without prepaying fees.

The detailed version

For law students, journalists, and other readers who want the full reasoning

Case
Matthew v. Egopija · No. 1:23-cv-03221
Judge
Laura Swain
Date
Apr. 20, 2023

Background

Izeh Matthew brought this civil action without a lawyer. Matthew submitted the complaint without paying the required fees and without an application to proceed without prepaying fees, commonly called an application to proceed in forma pauperis.

Order

The court explained that filing a civil action required either payment of $402—consisting of a $350 filing fee and a $52 administrative fee—or submission of a signed application to proceed without prepaying fees. The court ordered Matthew, within 30 days of the order, to pay the $402 or submit the attached application labeled with docket number 23-CV-3221.

If the court grants the application, Matthew may proceed without paying the fees in advance. No summons will issue at this time. If Matthew complies, the Clerk’s Office will process the case under its procedures. If Matthew does not comply within the allowed time, the action will be dismissed.

Appeal-related ruling

Chief Judge Laura Taylor Swain certified that any appeal from the order would not be taken in good faith and denied permission to appeal without prepaying fees.

The authoritative version

Read the full 4-page opinion on CourtListener, the free public archive maintained by the Free Law Project.

Open opinion PDF →
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