Williams v. Dudley
- John Cronan
- 1:23-cv-11018
- U.S. District Court · Southern District of New York
- 4
In Williams v. Dudley, Chief Judge Swain ordered Isaac J. Williams to pay $405 or submit an application to proceed without paying fees.
Isaac J. Williams must either pay the required fees or submit an IFP application within 30 days for the case to proceed. The defendants are not yet required to respond because no summons has issued.
What happened
In Williams v. Dudley, Isaac J. Williams filed a civil action without a lawyer but did not pay the required fees or submit an application to proceed without paying them.
The court gave Williams 30 days to pay $405 or submit a signed application explaining why he cannot pay. The court said no summons would issue yet, and warned that the action will be dismissed if he does not comply.
Chief Judge Laura Taylor Swain also denied permission to appeal without paying fees, certifying that an appeal from this order would not be taken in good faith.
The detailed version
- Williams v. Dudley · No. 1:23-cv-11018
- John Cronan
- Dec. 27, 2023
Background
Isaac J. Williams filed this civil action without a lawyer. He submitted the complaint without paying the required filing fees and without submitting an application to proceed without prepaying fees, commonly called an IFP application.
The Court’s Order
The court explained that proceeding with a civil action requires either payment of $405—consisting of a $350 filing fee and a $55 administrative fee—or submission of a signed IFP application. Within 30 days of the order, Williams must do one of those two things. If he submits the application, it must identify docket number 23-CV-11018 (LTS). If the court grants the application, Williams may proceed without paying the fees in advance.
The court directed that no summons issue at this time. It stated that, if Williams 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.
Appeal-Fee Ruling
Chief United States District Judge Laura Taylor Swain certified under 28 U.S.C. § 1915(a)(3) that an appeal from this order would not be taken in good faith. The court therefore denied IFP status for purposes of an appeal.
Result
The court issued an order directing Williams either to pay the $405 fees or submit an IFP application within 30 days. The opinion does not state that the action had already been dismissed.
Read the full 4-page opinion on CourtListener, the free public archive maintained by the Free Law Project.