Richards v. Williams
- Laura Swain
- 1:23-cv-02355
- U.S. District Court · Southern District of New York
- 1
In Richards v. Williams, Judge Swain dismissed the complaint without prejudice because Richards neither paid filing fees nor submitted an IFP application.
The dismissal ended this case because Vancara Cory Richards did not pay the filing fee or submit the required application. The dismissal was without prejudice, and fee-free status was denied for any appeal.
What happened
In Richards v. Williams, the court had ordered Richards to submit an application to proceed without paying filing fees or to pay the required $402 filing fee within 30 days.
Richards did neither. The court therefore dismissed the complaint without prejudice, meaning the dismissal did not bar refiling.
Judge Laura Taylor Swain also ruled that an appeal would not be taken in good faith and denied fee-free status for any appeal. The clerk was directed to enter judgment.
The detailed version
- Richards v. Williams · No. 1:23-cv-02355
- Laura Swain
- May 23, 2023
Background
By an order dated March 29, 2023, the court directed Vancara Cory Richards to either submit a completed application to proceed without paying filing fees, called an in forma pauperis application, or pay the $402 required to file a civil action. The order warned that failing to comply would result in dismissal.
Ruling
Richards did not submit the application or pay the filing fee. The court dismissed the complaint without prejudice under 28 U.S.C. §§ 1914 and 1915. This disposition did not address the merits of the claims.
The court also certified under 28 U.S.C. § 1915(a)(3) that any appeal would not be taken in good faith and denied fee-free status for purposes of an appeal. The clerk was directed to enter judgment.
Read the full 1-page opinion on CourtListener, the free public archive maintained by the Free Law Project.