Chan v. United States Department of Transportation
- Lewis Liman
- 1:23-cv-10365
- U.S. District Court · Southern District of New York
- 2
In Chan v. United States Department of Transportation, Judge Swain ordered the plaintiffs to pay fees or submit applications to proceed without prepayment.
Elizabeth Chan and Tamara Hoffman, the plaintiffs representing themselves, were required to pay the fees or submit individual applications to proceed without prepayment.
What happened
Chan v. United States Department of Transportation was brought by Elizabeth Chan and Tamara Hoffman, who are representing themselves. They submitted their complaint without paying the required fees or submitting applications to proceed without prepayment of fees.
The court required each plaintiff, within 30 days, either to pay $402 or submit her own signed application. The court said no summons would issue at that time and warned that the action would be dismissed if they did not comply.
Judge Laura Taylor Swain also ruled that any appeal from the order would not be taken in good faith and denied permission to proceed without prepaying fees on appeal.
The detailed version
- Chan v. United States Department of Transportation · No. 1:23-cv-10365
- Lewis Liman
- Jan. 16, 2024
Background
Elizabeth Chan and Tamara Hoffman brought this action without lawyers. They filed the complaint without paying the required filing and administrative fees and without submitting applications to proceed without prepayment of fees.
Order
The court explained that a plaintiff must either pay $402 in fees—a $350 filing fee and a $52 administrative fee—or submit a signed application requesting permission to proceed without prepayment. The court noted that the action was filed before the administrative fee increased from $52 to $55.
The court ordered both plaintiffs, within 30 days of the order, either to pay the $402 or submit the attached applications. Each plaintiff had to file her own application, and both applications had to identify docket number 23-CV-10365. The court stated that, if the applications were granted, the plaintiffs could proceed without prepaying fees.
No summons would issue at that time. The court stated that the case would be processed through the Clerk’s Office if the plaintiffs complied, but that the action would be dismissed if they failed to comply within the allowed time. The court also certified that any appeal would not be taken in good faith and denied permission to proceed without prepaying fees for an appeal.
Read the full 2-page opinion on CourtListener, the free public archive maintained by the Free Law Project.