Pearson v. Wellpath Health Services
- Kenneth Karas
- 7:24-cv-01714
- U.S. District Court · Southern District of New York
- 2
In Pearson v. Wellpath Health Services, Judge Swain extended Pearson’s deadline to pay filing fees or submit prisoner authorization.
Robert Pearson must either pay the $405 filing fee or submit a completed prisoner authorization within 30 days of the order; otherwise, the action will be dismissed. His ability to proceed without paying fees on an appeal from this order was also denied.
What happened
Pearson v. Wellpath Health Services concerns Robert Pearson’s application to file without paying the filing fee. The court had ordered him to pay $405 or submit a completed prisoner authorization, but that order was returned as undeliverable even though Pearson later confirmed his address was correct.
The court ordered the Clerk to resend the earlier order, a blank prisoner authorization form, and this order to Pearson at his address of record. It gave him 30 days from the date of this order to pay the $405 filing fee or submit the completed authorization. The court stated that the action will be dismissed if he does not comply within that time.
Judge Laura Taylor Swain granted Pearson an extension of time and denied permission to proceed without paying fees for any appeal from this order, finding that such an appeal would not be taken in good faith.
The detailed version
- Pearson v. Wellpath Health Services · No. 7:24-cv-01714
- Kenneth Karas
- May 3, 2024
Background
Robert Pearson, who the opinion says is detained in the Orange County Jail, brought this action without a lawyer. He submitted an application to proceed without paying the filing fee, but did not submit the required prisoner authorization.
On March 8, 2024, the court ordered Pearson to either pay the $405 filing fees for a civil action or submit a completed prisoner authorization within 30 days. The order was returned to the court on April 17, 2024, marked “return to sender.” Pearson then sent a letter indicating that he remained detained in the Orange County Jail and that his address on file was correct.
Court’s Action
Because the earlier order may have been returned by mistake, the court directed the Clerk of Court to resend that order, a blank prisoner authorization form, and a copy of this order to Pearson at his address of record. The court granted Pearson an extension of time.
Pearson must, within 30 days of May 3, 2024, either pay the $405 filing fee or submit a completed prisoner authorization. The court stated that the action will be dismissed if he does not comply within that period. The court also certified that an appeal from this order would not be taken in good faith and denied permission to proceed without paying fees for purposes of an appeal.
Read the full 2-page opinion on CourtListener, the free public archive maintained by the Free Law Project.