Hong v. Sun
- Laura Swain
- 1:23-cv-05500
- U.S. District Court · Southern District of New York
- 2
In Hong v. Sun, Chief Judge Swain ordered the pro se plaintiff to pay $402 or submit an amended fee-waiver application within 30 days.
The pro se plaintiff, whose case cannot proceed unless he pays the $402 fee or submits an adequate amended application within 30 days; the defendants are Justin Sun, Tron Foundation Limited, and BitTorrent Foundation, Ltd.
What happened
In Hong v. Sun, the pro se plaintiff asked to proceed without paying the filing and administrative fees. The court had previously directed the plaintiff to pay the fees or submit an application to proceed without prepayment.
The plaintiff submitted an application but stated only that he was employed and earned $4,516.37 per month. He did not provide information about cash, bank accounts, property, assets, monthly expenses, dependents, debts, or other financial obligations. The court therefore could not determine that he was unable to pay.
The court ordered the plaintiff, within 30 days, either to pay $402 or submit an amended application with the missing information. No summons would issue at that time, and the action would be dismissed if the plaintiff did not comply. Chief Judge Swain also denied fee-waiver status for any appeal from the order.
The detailed version
- Hong v. Sun · No. 1:23-cv-05500
- Laura Swain
- Sept. 14, 2023
Background
The plaintiff brought this action without a lawyer against Justin Sun, Tron Foundation Limited, and BitTorrent Foundation, Ltd. To proceed with a civil action in the Southern District of New York, a plaintiff must either pay $402 in fees or submit a signed application to proceed without prepaying the fees. The court had previously ordered the plaintiff to make that choice.
The Fee Application
The plaintiff submitted an application on September 11, 2023. He stated that he was employed and earned $4,516.37 per month, and that he had no other income. But he did not answer the application’s remaining questions about money held in cash or bank accounts, property or other assets, monthly expenses such as housing and transportation, dependents, or debts and other financial obligations.
Because of those omissions, the court could not determine that the plaintiff was unable to pay the filing fees.
Order
The court ordered the plaintiff, within 30 days of the order, to do one of two things: pay the $402 in fees or submit an amended application. The amended application must use docket number 23-CV-5500 (LTS), answer all applicable questions, and provide facts showing that the plaintiff cannot pay the fees. If the court grants the amended application, the plaintiff may proceed without prepaying the fees.
No summons would issue at that time. The court stated that the case would be processed through the Clerk’s Office if the plaintiff complied, but that the action would be dismissed if he did not comply within the allowed time. The court also certified that an appeal from the order would not be taken in good faith and denied permission to appeal without prepaying fees.
Disposition
The court directed payment of the fees or submission of an amended application; it did not issue summonses at that stage. 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.