Gottlieb v. Boller

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT SOUTHERN DISTRICT OF NEW YORK SEAN GOTTLIEB, Plaintiff, 24-CV-6285 (LTS) -against- ORDER DIRECTING PAYMENT OF FEES OR AMENDED IFP APPLICATION JEN BOLLER, TUTOR.COM, Defendant.1 LAURA TAYLOR SWAIN, Chief United States District Judge: Plaintiff Sean Gottlieb is proceeding pro se. To proceed with a civil action in this Court, a plaintiff must either pay $405.00 in fees – a $350.00 filing fee plus a $55.00 administrative fee – or, to request authorization to proceed in forma pauperis (“IFP”), that is, without prepayment of fees, submit a signed IFP application. See 28 U.S.C. §§ 1914, 1915.

Plaintiff submitted an IFP application, but it appears that the information that he has provided is not complete. Plaintiff alleges in the complaint that his employment ended in August 2024 (ECF 1 at 2, ¶ 3), but he avers in the IFP application that he has not received any income in the past 12 months. Because the information in the IFP application is incomplete, the Court cannot conclude that Plaintiff is unable to pay the filing fees.

Accordingly, within thirty days of the date of this order, Plaintiff must either pay the $405.00 in fees or submit an amended IFP application in which he fully answers all of the questions. The amended IFP application should be labeled with docket number 24-CV-6285 (LTS) and submitted to the Court’s Pro Se Intake Unit.

1 It is unclear if Plaintiff intends to name one defendant or two defendants.

No summons shall issue at this time. If Plaintiff fails to comply with this order within the time allowed, the action will be dismissed without prejudice.

The Court certifies under 28 U.S.C. § 1915(a)(3) that any appeal from this order would not be taken in good faith, and therefore IFP status is denied for the purpose of an appeal. Cf. Coppedge v. United States, 369 U.S. 438, 444–45 (1962) (holding that appellant demonstrates good faith when seeking review of a nonfrivolous issue).

SO ORDERED.

Dated: August 21, 2024 New York, New York /s/ Laura Taylor Swain LAURA TAYLOR SWAIN Chief United States District Judge