Hussey v. John Doe/Jane Doe
- Laura Swain
- 1:24-cv-02438
- U.S. District Court · Southern District of New York
- 2
In Hussey v. John Doe/Jane Doe, Judge Swain ordered pro se petitioner Yessuh Hussey to pay fees or submit an IFP application within 30 days.
Yessuh Hussey, who filed the petition while representing himself. The order required Hussey to pay the fees or submit an IFP application; it did not issue a summons or decide the petition’s merits.
What happened
In Hussey v. John Doe/Jane Doe, Yessuh Hussey filed a petition for a court order requiring action by the respondents, but did not pay the required fees or submit an application to proceed without prepaying them.
The court ordered Hussey, within 30 days, either to pay $405 in filing and administrative fees or submit a signed application to proceed without prepayment. No summons would issue at that time, and the order stated that the action would be dismissed if Hussey did not comply.
Judge Laura Taylor Swain also certified that an appeal would not be taken in good faith and denied permission to appeal without prepaying fees. The order did not address the merits of Hussey’s petition.
The detailed version
- Hussey v. John Doe/Jane Doe · No. 1:24-cv-02438
- Laura Swain
- Apr. 12, 2024
Background
Yessuh Hussey filed a petition for a writ of mandamus while representing himself. The opinion does not describe the underlying dispute or the relief Hussey sought from John Doe/Jane Doe. Hussey submitted the petition without paying the required fees and without an application to proceed in forma pauperis (IFP), meaning without prepaying court fees.
Fees or IFP application
The court stated that beginning a civil action required payment of $405: a $350 filing fee and a $55 administrative fee. Instead, Hussey had to submit either the full $405 or a signed IFP application within 30 days of the order. If the court granted the IFP application, Hussey could proceed without prepaying the fees. The application was to identify docket number 24-CV-2438 (LTS).
Order and effect
The court directed Hussey to comply with one of those two requirements. No summons would issue at that time. If Hussey complied, the case would be processed under the Clerk’s Office procedures; if Hussey failed to comply within the allowed time, the action would be dismissed. The court also certified under 28 U.S.C. § 1915(a)(3) that an appeal from the order would not be taken in good faith and denied IFP status for purposes of an appeal. Judge Laura Taylor Swain signed the order. The court did not decide the merits of the petition.
Read the full 2-page opinion on CourtListener, the free public archive maintained by the Free Law Project.