Almanzar v. ZAM Realty Management Co., LLC
- Laura Swain
- 1:23-cv-08301
- U.S. District Court · Southern District of New York
- 3
In Almanzar v. ZAM Realty, Judge Swain ordered Pedro A. Almanzar to pay filing fees or submit a complete fee-waiver application.
Pedro A. Almanzar, who must either pay the court fees or submit a complete amended application to proceed without paying them; the underlying claims against ZAM Realty Management Co., LLC and the other defendants were not decided.
What happened
Almanzar v. ZAM Realty Management Co., LLC concerns Pedro A. Almanzar’s request to bring a civil case without paying court fees. Almanzar is representing himself without a lawyer and submitted an application claiming he could not afford the fees.
The court found that the application did not answer important questions about his finances, including his past employment, income sources, bank accounts, assets, expenses, financial support for others, and other obligations. The court therefore did not decide whether he qualified for a fee waiver.
Judge Laura Taylor Swain ordered Almanzar, within 30 days, either to pay $402 in court fees or submit a fully completed and signed amended application. No summonses will issue yet, and the court said it will dismiss the action if he does not comply. The court also denied fee-waiver status for any appeal from this order.
The detailed version
- Almanzar v. ZAM Realty Management Co., LLC · No. 1:23-cv-08301
- Laura Swain
- Oct. 5, 2023
Background
Pedro A. Almanzar brought this civil action without a lawyer. To proceed, he had to pay $402 in filing and administrative fees or submit an application to proceed without paying those fees.
Almanzar submitted an application stating that he was unemployed and appeared to state that he was receiving no wages. But the application did not provide the date of his last employment or the amount of his prior monthly wages. It also mentioned pension, annuity, insurance, and public-benefit payments without identifying the sources or amounts. The application did not state whether he had money in a bank account, other assets, monthly expenses, financial dependents, or other financial obligations.
Court’s analysis
The court explained that the fee-waiver process is intended to help people who cannot afford court fees. Under the governing statute, the court must dismiss an action if an applicant’s statement of poverty is untrue. The court also explained that dismissal is warranted when a person deliberately hides or misrepresents financial assets or history to obtain fee-waiver status, but that minor good-faith inaccuracies do not necessarily require dismissal.
Because Almanzar’s application left his financial circumstances unclear, the court required more information before deciding whether he could proceed without paying the fees.
Order
Judge Laura Taylor Swain ordered Almanzar, within 30 days of the order, either to pay the $402 in fees or to fully complete, sign, and submit an amended application. The amended application must answer all questions and provide facts showing that he cannot pay the fees. If the court grants the amended application, Almanzar may proceed without paying the fees in advance.
No summonses will issue at this time. If Almanzar complies, the action will be processed under the Clerk’s Office procedures. If he does not comply within the allowed time, the court will dismiss the action. The court also certified that an appeal from this order would not be taken in good faith and denied fee-waiver status for purposes of an appeal.
Read the full 3-page opinion on CourtListener, the free public archive maintained by the Free Law Project.