Taylor v. Extra Space Storage Company
- Laura Swain
- 1:23-cv-11000
- U.S. District Court · Southern District of New York
- 4
In Kenny Taylor v. Extra Space Storage Company, Judge Swain ordered payment or a corrected fee-waiver application because Taylor’s financial information was incomplete.
Kenny Taylor is directly affected because he must either pay $405 or submit a complete amended fee-waiver application within 30 days. The action will be dismissed if he does not comply, and no summons issued at this stage.
What happened
Kenny Taylor sued Extra Space Storage Company and other defendants while representing himself. Taylor asked to proceed without paying court fees upfront, but his application did not provide enough information for the court to determine whether he could afford the fees.
The court said Taylor needed to provide information about his last employment and wages, how he paid monthly expenses despite reporting no income, and his cash, property, expenses, dependents, and debts. The court had not issued a summons, so the defendants had not yet been served through this order.
The court ordered Taylor, within 30 days, to either pay $405 or submit an amended application with complete information. Judge Swain stated that the case would be processed if Taylor complied and would be dismissed if he did not; the court also denied fee-free status for any appeal from this order.
The detailed version
- Taylor v. Extra Space Storage Company · No. 1:23-cv-11000
- Laura Swain
- Jan. 11, 2024
Background
Kenny Taylor, identified in the caption as a presidential candidate, brought this action against Extra Space Storage Company and other defendants. He is representing himself. To begin a civil action in the Southern District of New York, a plaintiff must either pay $405 in filing and administrative fees or request permission to proceed without paying those fees in advance. Taylor submitted an application for that permission, commonly called an application to proceed in forma pauperis or an IFP application.
The Application’s Deficiencies
Taylor reported that he was unemployed and had no income, but he did not answer questions about the date of his last employment, his gross monthly wages at that time, or how he was paying his monthly expenses. He also wrote “none” in response to questions about cash or bank-account funds, property, monthly expenses, dependents, and debts or other financial obligations. Because the application did not explain how Taylor was paying his living expenses without income, the court could not determine from the application whether he was unable to pay the filing fees.
Order
The court ordered Taylor to take one of two actions within 30 days of January 11, 2024: pay the $405 in fees or submit an amended IFP application. The amended application must answer all relevant questions, provide facts showing that Taylor cannot afford the fees, and include the case’s docket number. If the court grants the amended application, Taylor may proceed without paying the fees in advance.
No summons would issue at that time. The order stated that the case would be processed under the Clerk’s Office procedures if Taylor complied, but that the action would be dismissed if he failed to comply within the permitted 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. Judge Laura Taylor Swain signed the order.
Read the full 4-page opinion on CourtListener, the free public archive maintained by the Free Law Project.