Schmitt v. Blinken
- Laura Swain
- 1:23-cv-01892
- U.S. District Court · Southern District of New York
- 2
In Schmitt v. Blinken, Judge Swain dismissed the complaint without prejudice because Schmitt neither paid filing fees nor filed an application to proceed without paying.
John Howard Schmitt, Jr. and the defendants named in the case; the complaint was dismissed without prejudice because Schmitt did not pay the filing fees or submit the required application.
What happened
In Schmitt v. Blinken, John Howard Schmitt, Jr. filed a case without a lawyer against Antony John Blinken, the United States, and other defendants. The court ordered him to either pay the required filing fees or submit an application to proceed without paying.
Schmitt filed several other documents but did not submit the required application or pay the fees by the deadline. The court therefore dismissed the complaint without prejudice, meaning the dismissal did not bar him from filing again.
Chief Judge Laura Taylor Swain also denied permission to proceed without paying the costs of an appeal, finding that any appeal would not be taken in good faith. She directed the Clerk of Court to enter judgment.
The detailed version
- Schmitt v. Blinken · No. 1:23-cv-01892
- Laura Swain
- May 10, 2023
Background
John Howard Schmitt, Jr. filed this action without a lawyer on March 4, 2023. The defendants named in the caption included Antony John Blinken, Secretary of State, the United States, and others.
Schmitt then filed several documents with titles including “Master Bill of Lading,” “Ships Manifest,” “Non-Negotiable Bill of Exceptions,” “Proof of Consideration,” “Non-Negotiable Interlocutory Appeal,” and “Notice of Order Pro Confesso on Special Deposit.”
Filing-fee requirement
On March 29, 2023, the court ordered Schmitt, within 30 days, either to submit a completed application to proceed without paying the filing fees or to pay the $402 required to file a civil action. The order warned that failure to do so would result in dismissal of the complaint.
Schmitt did not submit the application or pay the fees.
Ruling
The court dismissed the complaint without prejudice under 28 U.S.C. §§ 1914 and 1915. The court also certified under 28 U.S.C. § 1915(a)(3) that any appeal from the order would not be taken in good faith and denied permission to proceed without paying the costs of an appeal. Chief Judge Laura Taylor Swain directed the Clerk of Court to enter judgment.
Read the full 2-page opinion on CourtListener, the free public archive maintained by the Free Law Project.