Smith-Burrus v. Commissioner of Social Security
- Laura Swain
- 1:23-cv-04632
- U.S. District Court · Southern District of New York
- 2
In Smith-Burrus v. Commissioner, Judge Swain ordered a pro se plaintiff to pay fees or submit a readable, complete IFP application.
Alfreda Smith-Burrus and the continuation of her action against the Commissioner of Social Security; the order requires her to pay the fees or submit an amended IFP application within 30 days.
What happened
In Smith-Burrus v. Commissioner of Social Security, Alfreda Smith-Burrus brought a civil action without a lawyer and asked to proceed without paying court fees upfront.
Her application to proceed without prepaying fees was difficult to read and left many questions unanswered. The court gave her 30 days to pay $402 in fees or submit a signed, readable, and fully completed amended application.
Judge Laura Taylor Swain ordered that no summons be issued for now and warned that the case will be dismissed if Smith-Burrus does not comply. The court also denied fee-free status for any appeal from this order.
The detailed version
- Smith-Burrus v. Commissioner of Social Security · No. 1:23-cv-04632
- Laura Swain
- June 20, 2023
Background
Alfreda Smith-Burrus brought this action without a lawyer. To proceed with a civil action in the Southern District of New York, a plaintiff must either pay the required fees or request permission to proceed without paying them in advance by submitting a signed application to proceed in forma pauperis (IFP), meaning without prepayment of court fees.
Smith-Burrus submitted an IFP application on June 13, 2023. The court found that the application was illegible and that many questions had not been answered.
Order
The court ordered Smith-Burrus, within 30 days from the date of the order, to do one of two things: pay $402 in fees, consisting of a $350 filing fee and a $52 administrative fee, or submit the attached amended IFP application. The amended application had to be legibly completed, with every question answered fully, and labeled with docket number 23-CV-4632 (LTS). The court explained that, if it granted the amended application, Smith-Burrus would be allowed to proceed without prepaying the fees.
No summons would issue at that time. The court stated that the action would be dismissed if Smith-Burrus failed to comply within the permitted time. The court also certified that any appeal from the order would not be taken in good faith and denied IFP status for purposes of an appeal.
Classification and effect
This is a procedural order addressing court fees and an application to proceed without prepayment, not a decision on the underlying Social Security dispute. Judge Laura Taylor Swain signed the order.
Read the full 2-page opinion on CourtListener, the free public archive maintained by the Free Law Project.