Song v. Coleman
- Laura Swain
- 1:23-cv-04526
- U.S. District Court · Southern District of New York
- 4
In Song v. Coleman, Judge Swain ordered Eugenia Song to pay fees or submit an IFP application within 30 days.
Eugenia Song, who must either pay the $402 in fees or submit a signed application to proceed without prepaying fees within 30 days; the case may be dismissed if she does not comply.
What happened
In Song v. Coleman, Eugenia Song filed a civil action without paying the required fees or submitting an application to proceed without prepaying them. The order does not describe the underlying claims.
The court gave Song 30 days to pay $402, consisting of a $350 filing fee and a $52 administrative fee, or to submit a signed application explaining why she cannot prepay the fees. No summons would issue at that time.
Judge Laura Taylor Swain ordered that the case would be processed if Song complied and would be dismissed if she did not. Judge Swain also denied permission to proceed without prepaying fees for any appeal, finding that an appeal would not be taken in good faith.
The detailed version
- Song v. Coleman · No. 1:23-cv-04526
- Laura Swain
- June 1, 2023
Background
Eugenia Song brought the action against Peter Coleman and proceeded without a lawyer. She submitted the complaint without paying the required fees and without an application to proceed without prepaying fees, commonly called an IFP application.
The Court’s Order
The court explained that a civil action in the Southern District of New York requires payment of $402: a $350 filing fee and a $52 administrative fee. Within 30 days of the order, Song had to either pay that amount or submit a signed IFP application. If the court granted the application, she would be allowed to proceed without paying the fees in advance.
The court directed that no summons issue at that time. It stated that, if Song complied with the order, the case would be processed under the Clerk’s Office procedures. If she did not comply within the permitted time, the action would be dismissed.
Appeal-Related Ruling
The court certified that any appeal from the order would not be taken in good faith and denied IFP status for purposes of an appeal. The order addresses filing requirements and does not decide the merits of Song’s underlying claims.
Read the full 4-page opinion on CourtListener, the free public archive maintained by the Free Law Project.