Azzarmi v. Port Authority of NY & NJ
- Laura Swain
- 1:23-cv-07553
- U.S. District Court · Southern District of New York
- 4
In Azzarmi v. Port Authority, Judge Swain ordered payment of filing fees or an application to proceed without prepayment.
Aasir Azzarmi was required to pay $402 in fees or submit a signed application to proceed without prepaying fees within 30 days. The defendants were not yet required to respond because no summons would issue at that time.
What happened
Aasir Azzarmi brought this case against the Port Authority of NY & NJ and other defendants without a lawyer. The complaint was submitted without the required filing fees or an application to proceed without prepaying them.
The court gave Azzarmi 30 days from August 28, 2023, to pay $402 in fees or submit a signed application showing an inability to pay. No summons would issue at that time, and the case would be processed if Azzarmi complied. The order stated that the action would be dismissed if Azzarmi did not comply within the deadline.
Judge Laura Taylor Swain also certified that an appeal from the order would not be taken in good faith and denied permission to appeal without prepaying fees. The order did not address the merits of Azzarmi’s claims.
The detailed version
- Azzarmi v. Port Authority of NY & NJ · No. 1:23-cv-07553
- Laura Swain
- Aug. 28, 2023
Background
Aasir Azzarmi filed this action pro se, meaning without a lawyer. The opinion does not describe the claims against the Port Authority of NY & NJ and the other defendants. Azzarmi submitted the complaint without paying the required fees and without submitting an application to proceed without prepaying fees.
Fee requirement
The court explained that filing a civil action required either payment of $402—comprising a $350 filing fee and a $52 administrative fee—or a signed application requesting permission to proceed without prepaying fees. The application is commonly called an IFP application, meaning an application to proceed without prepayment of filing fees.
Order
The court ordered Azzarmi, within 30 days of August 28, 2023, to either pay the $402 in fees or submit the attached signed application. The application was to identify docket number 23-CV-7553 (LTS). The court stated that, if it granted the application, Azzarmi could proceed without prepaying fees.
No summons would issue at that time. If Azzarmi complied, the case would be processed under the Clerk’s Office procedures. If Azzarmi failed to comply within the allowed period, the action would be dismissed. The opinion does not state that the action was dismissed in this order.
Appeal-fee ruling
The court certified under 28 U.S.C. § 1915(a)(3) that any appeal from the order would not be taken in good faith. It therefore denied permission to appeal without prepaying fees. This order did not decide the underlying claims.
Read the full 4-page opinion on CourtListener, the free public archive maintained by the Free Law Project.