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S.D.N.Y.Procedural orderFiled Mar. 21, 2024

Manley v. HRA/DDS

Judge
Laura Swain
Docket
1:24-cv-01280
Court
U.S. District Court · Southern District of New York
Pages
2
Civil ProcedurePro Se
In one sentence

In Manley v. HRA/DDS, Judge Swain ordered Eric Manley to pay $405 or submit an application to proceed without upfront fees within 30 days.

Who this affects

Eric Manley must either pay the $405 filing fees or submit a signed application to proceed without prepaying fees within 30 days; otherwise, the action will be dismissed. The order also affects any appeal by denying permission to proceed without prepaying appellate fees.

What happened

In Manley v. HRA/DDS, Eric Manley filed a civil lawsuit without a lawyer against HRA/DDS and Kadeja Allen. The opinion does not describe the claims.

Because Manley submitted the complaint without paying the required fees or filing an application to proceed without paying them upfront, the court ordered him to do one of those things within 30 days. The court also said that no summons would issue yet and that the case would be dismissed if he did not comply.

Judge Laura Taylor Swain denied permission to proceed without paying fees for any appeal from this order, stating that an appeal would not be taken in good faith. The order did not decide the underlying claims.

The detailed version

For law students, journalists, and other readers who want the full reasoning

Case
Manley v. HRA/DDS · No. 1:24-cv-01280
Judge
Laura Swain
Date
Mar. 21, 2024

Background

Eric Manley brought this action without a lawyer against HRA/DDS and Kadeja Allen. The opinion does not state the substance of his claims. It notes that Manley appears to have filed a substantially similar action under docket number 24-CV-1635 (LTS), and that he had not paid the filing fee or requested permission to proceed without prepaying fees in either action.

Order

The court explained that a person filing a civil action in the district court must either pay $405 in fees—the $350 filing fee and $55 administrative fee—or submit a signed application to proceed without prepaying fees. Manley had submitted the complaint without either payment or an application.

The court ordered Manley, within 30 days of the order, to pay the $405 fee or submit the attached application. If the court grants the application, he may proceed without prepaying the fees. The court directed that no summons issue at that time. It stated that, if Manley complies, the case will be processed through the Clerk’s Office procedures; if he does not comply within the allowed time, the action will be dismissed.

Appeal and disposition

Judge Laura Taylor Swain certified that any appeal from the order would not be taken in good faith and denied permission to proceed without prepaying fees for purposes of an appeal. This order addressed filing-fee requirements and did not rule on the merits of Manley’s claims.

The authoritative version

Read the full 2-page opinion on CourtListener, the free public archive maintained by the Free Law Project.

Open opinion PDF →
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