McCarthy v. Kaplan
- Laura Swain
- 1:23-cv-11324
- U.S. District Court · Southern District of New York
- 4
In McCarthy v. Kaplan, Judge Swain required Ana McCarthy to pay fees or request permission to proceed without prepaying them.
Ana McCarthy was required to pay the case fees or submit a signed application to proceed without prepaying them. Her summons and pending motions were placed on hold, and the action would be dismissed if she did not comply within 30 days.
What happened
In McCarthy v. Kaplan, Ana McCarthy filed the case without a lawyer by emailing her complaint to the court on December 29, 2023. She later filed five motions, including requests to amend, seal documents, issue a preliminary injunction, and intervene.
The court said McCarthy had to either pay $405 in filing and administrative fees or submit a signed application to proceed without paying the fees in advance. The court gave her 30 days from the order’s date to do so.
Judge Laura Taylor Swain ordered that no summons issue and that the court take no action on McCarthy’s motions for now. She stated that the case would be dismissed if McCarthy did not comply, and denied permission to appeal without prepaying fees.
The detailed version
- McCarthy v. Kaplan · No. 1:23-cv-11324
- Laura Swain
- Feb. 13, 2024
Background
Ana McCarthy filed this action without a lawyer on December 29, 2023, by emailing her complaint to the court’s designated address for new cases. Between January 9 and January 31, 2024, she filed five motions: a motion to amend, an emergency motion to seal, a motion for a preliminary injunction, a revised motion for a preliminary injunction, and an emergency motion for federal judicial intervention.
Payment or fee-waiver requirement
The court explained that a person starting a civil action must either pay $405 in fees—a $350 filing fee and a $55 administrative fee—or request permission to proceed without prepaying fees by submitting a signed application. The court’s email-filing procedures gave McCarthy 21 days to pay the fees or submit the application. Because more than 21 days had passed since she filed the complaint, the court ordered her, within 30 days of February 13, 2024, to pay the fees or complete, sign, and submit the attached application.
Effect on the case
The court ordered that no summons issue and that it would take no action on McCarthy’s pending motions at that time. If she complied, the case would be processed under the Clerk’s Office procedures. If she failed to comply within the allowed time, the action would be dismissed.
Appeal-fee ruling
The court certified under 28 U.S.C. § 1915(a)(3) 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.