Court, Explained
U.S. Federal District Courts
←Back to docket
S.D.N.Y.Procedural orderFiled May 8, 2023

Hernandez v. Montagari

Judge
Laura Swain
Docket
1:23-cv-02043
Court
U.S. District Court · Southern District of New York
Pages
2
HabeasCivil Procedure
In one sentence

In Hernandez v. Montagari, Judge Swain dismissed the petition without prejudice because Hernandez neither paid the fee nor sought a fee waiver.

Who this affects

The dismissal affected Roberto Bacallao Hernandez's petition. Because the court dismissed it without prejudice, the opinion states that the dismissal was not a bar to refiling.

What happened

In Roberto Bacallao Hernandez v. A. Montagari, the court required Hernandez to either pay the $5 filing fee or submit a request to proceed without paying it. The case concerned a petition for a writ of habeas corpus.

The court had given Hernandez 30 days to comply and warned that failing to do so would result in dismissal. Hernandez did not submit the request or pay the fee.

Judge Laura Taylor Swain dismissed the petition without prejudice, meaning the dismissal did not bar refiling. The court also denied permission to appeal without paying the appeal fee and directed the Clerk of Court to enter judgment.

The detailed version

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

Case
Hernandez v. Montagari · No. 1:23-cv-02043
Judge
Laura Swain
Date
May 8, 2023

Background

Roberto Bacallao Hernandez filed a petition for a writ of habeas corpus. On March 21, 2023, the court directed him, within 30 days, either to pay the required $5 filing fee or submit a completed application to proceed in forma pauperis (IFP), which is a request to proceed without paying the filing fee. The court warned that failure to comply would result in dismissal.

Failure to Comply

Hernandez did not submit an IFP application and did not pay the filing fee. A footnote also states that public records showed he was released from New York State Department of Corrections and Community Supervision custody on May 3, 2023, and that he had not notified the court of a change of address or contacted the court further.

Ruling

Judge Laura Taylor Swain dismissed the petition without prejudice. The court also certified that any appeal would not be taken in good faith and denied IFP status for purposes of an appeal. The Clerk of Court was directed to enter judgment.

The authoritative version

Read the full 2-page opinion on CourtListener, the free public archive maintained by the Free Law Project.

Open opinion PDF →
Summary written with AI assistance. See how summaries are made. Spot something wrong? Tell us.