Johnson v. General CIA
- Laura Swain
- 1:23-cv-03707
- U.S. District Court · Southern District of New York
- 5
In Johnson v. General CIA, Judge Swain ordered Clarence D. Johnson, Jr. to submit an original signature and pay fees or request permission to proceed without prepayment.
Clarence D. Johnson, Jr., who must satisfy the signature and fee or fee-waiver requirements to continue the action.
What happened
In Johnson v. General CIA, Clarence D. Johnson, Jr. filed a civil complaint without paying the required fees, submitting an application to proceed without prepayment, or signing the complaint. The order addressed these filing requirements rather than the claims themselves.
The court gave Johnson 30 days to either pay $402 in fees or submit the provided application to proceed without prepayment. He must also submit a complaint signature page bearing an original signature. No summons will issue at this time.
Judge Laura Taylor Swain ordered that the case will be processed under the Clerk’s Office procedures if Johnson complies. If he does not comply within 30 days, the action will be dismissed. The court also denied permission to proceed without prepayment for an appeal from this order.
The detailed version
- Johnson v. General CIA · No. 1:23-cv-03707
- Laura Swain
- May 3, 2023
Background
Clarence D. Johnson, Jr. filed this civil action without a lawyer. He submitted the complaint without paying the filing fees, without an application to proceed without prepayment of fees, and without a signature.
Court’s Order
The court explained that starting a civil action requires either payment of $402—consisting of a $350 filing fee and a $52 administrative fee—or submission of a signed application to proceed without prepayment of fees. The court directed Johnson, within 30 days of the order, to do one of those two things. If the court grants the application, Johnson may proceed without paying the fees in advance.
The court also directed Johnson to resubmit the complaint’s signature page with an original signature. The order cited the federal rule requiring an unrepresented party to personally sign a pleading and explained that an original handwritten name or handplaced mark is required.
Effect of Noncompliance
No summons will issue at this time. If Johnson complies with the order, the case will be processed under the Clerk’s Office procedures. If he does not comply within the allowed 30-day period, the action will be dismissed.
Appeal-Fee Certification
The court certified that an appeal from the order would not be taken in good faith and denied permission to proceed without prepayment of fees for purposes of an appeal.
Read the full 5-page opinion on CourtListener, the free public archive maintained by the Free Law Project.