Hecht v. Brandt
- James Cott
- 1:23-cv-06276
- U.S. District Court · Southern District of New York
- 2
In Hecht v. Brandt, Judge Swain ordered Jerry Wells to pay fees or apply to proceed without them, warning dismissal for noncompliance.
Jerry Wells, who was ordered to pay the filing fees or submit an application to proceed without prepaying them; the action could be dismissed if he did not comply.
What happened
In Hecht v. Brandt, Jerry Wells removed the case from New York state court to federal court but did not pay the required filing fees or submit an application to proceed without paying them.
The court gave Wells 30 days from the order to pay $402 or submit the application. The court also noted that Heidi Brandt had filed a separate removal notice that was opened as another civil case.
Judge Swain warned that the case would be dismissed if Wells did not comply and denied permission to proceed without fees for any appeal from the order.
The detailed version
- Hecht v. Brandt · No. 1:23-cv-06276
- James Cott
- Aug. 17, 2023
Background
Jerry Wells removed this action from New York Supreme Court, New York County, to the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York. When he filed the notice of removal, he did not pay the required $402 filing and administrative fees and did not submit an application to proceed without prepaying fees, commonly called an IFP application.
The court stated that its electronic filing system generally gives a party 21 days to pay the fees or submit an IFP application. That period had passed. The opinion also states that Heidi Brandt filed a separate notice of removal on the same day, and the Clerk’s Office opened that filing as a separate civil action, No. 23-CV-6279 (UA).
Order
The court ordered Wells, within 30 days of the order, either to pay the $402 in fees or submit the attached IFP application labeled with docket number 23-CV-6276 (LTS). If the court grants the application, Wells may proceed without prepaying fees.
If Wells complies, the case will be processed under the Clerk’s Office procedures. If he does not comply within the allowed time, the action will be dismissed. 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. The order was signed by Chief United States District Judge Laura Taylor Swain.
Read the full 2-page opinion on CourtListener, the free public archive maintained by the Free Law Project.