Smith-Burrus v. Commissioner of Social Security
- Laura Swain
- 1:23-cv-04632
- U.S. District Court · Southern District of New York
- 4
In Smith-Burrus v. Commissioner, Judge Swain ordered Alfreda Smith-Burrus to pay fees or submit an application to proceed without prepayment.
Alfreda Smith-Burrus, who was required to pay the $402 in fees or submit a signed application to proceed without prepaying fees within 30 days; the case would be dismissed if she did not comply.
What happened
In Smith-Burrus v. Commissioner of Social Security, Alfreda Smith-Burrus filed a civil action without paying the required fees or submitting an application to proceed without prepaying them. The opinion states that she is representing herself.
The court gave her 30 days from June 2, 2023, to either pay $402 or submit a signed application. The court said no summons would issue yet and that the case would be processed if she complied. If she did not comply on time, the action would be dismissed.
Judge Laura Taylor Swain also stated that an appeal from this order would not be taken in good faith and denied permission to appeal without prepaying fees. The order did not address the merits of Smith-Burrus’s Social Security case.
The detailed version
- Smith-Burrus v. Commissioner of Social Security · No. 1:23-cv-04632
- Laura Swain
- June 2, 2023
Background
Alfreda Smith-Burrus brought this civil action without a lawyer. The complaint was submitted without the required filing fees and without an application to proceed without prepaying fees, commonly called an application to proceed in forma pauperis.
Court’s Order
The court explained that proceeding with a civil action required either payment of $402— consisting of a $350 filing fee and a $52 administrative fee—or submission of a signed application requesting permission to proceed without prepayment. The court ordered Smith-Burrus, within 30 days of the order, to take one of those two steps. If she submitted the application, it had to identify docket number 23-CV-4632 (LTS). The court stated that, if the application were granted, she would be allowed to proceed without prepaying the fees.
No summons would issue at that time. The court stated that the case would be processed under the Clerk’s Office procedures if Smith-Burrus complied. If she failed to comply within the allowed period, the action would be dismissed.
Appeal and Effect
The court certified that an appeal from the order would not be taken in good faith and denied permission to appeal without prepaying fees. Judge Laura Taylor Swain’s order addressed filing requirements and appeal-fee status; it did not decide the underlying Social Security dispute.
Read the full 4-page opinion on CourtListener, the free public archive maintained by the Free Law Project.