“A minor or incompetent person normally lacks the capacity to bring suit for himself.” citing N.Y. C.P.L.R. 1201
How later courts described this case
- “A minor or incompetent person normally lacks the capacity to bring suit for himself.” citing N.Y. C.P.L.R. 1201
- “because pro se means to appear for one’s self, a person may not appear on another person’s behalf”
Written by the judges who cited it.
The opinion
UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
EASTERN DISTRICT OF NEW YORK
-------------------------------------------------------x
HADIQIA McQUEEN, ALONDA BROWNE,
DAYQUAN BULLOCK, and
S.S.-M, Minor,
Plaintiffs,
ORDER
-against-
24-CV-8596 (LDH)(LB)
SGT DS RAYMOND TOMINS, DT3
ROBERT KOEHLER, JOHN DOE WITNESS
OFFICER(S), PO EDGAR RAMIREZ, PO
MALKA RAUL, PO RYAN RAMOS, PO
SHANEL BURGHER, LT SHENA
RICHARDS, PO BERVENS HYPPOLITE,
NYS DOCCS INV. THOMAS KAM, US
MARSHALS CRIMINAL INVESTIGATOR
SANDY RAO, DT3 HARRY HUGHES, and
DT3 PEDRO NIEVES,
Defendants.
--------------------------------------------------------x
LASHANN DEARCY HALL, United States District Judge:
Plaintiffs Hadiqia McQueen, Alonda Browne, Dayquan Bullock, and S.S.-M., a minor,1
proceeding pro se, commenced this action on December 13, 2024. (Compl., ECF No. 1.)
However, Plaintiffs failed to either pay the filing fee or seek a waiver of the fee by filing an
application to proceed in forma pauperis (“IFP”). By letters dated December 17, 2024, the
Clerk of Court informed Plaintiffs that they must file an IFP application or pay the filing fee
within 14 days in order to proceed with this action. (See Notices of Deficient Filing, ECF Nos.
1 Minors may not proceed in a court action without counsel. See Berrios v. New York City Hous. Auth., 564 F.3d
130, 134 (2d Cir. 2009) (“A minor or incompetent person normally lacks the capacity to bring suit for himself.”
citing N.Y. C.P.L.R. 1201). In New York State, a plaintiff must be at least 18 years of age in order to proceed on
his or her own behalf. See N.Y. C.P.L.R. 105. Moreover, a non-attorney parent or legal guardian cannot represent
his or her child or ward. See Tindall v. Poultney High Sch. Dist., 414 F.3d 281, 284 (2d Cir. 2005); Iannaccone v.
Law, 142 F.3d 553, 558 (2d Cir. 1998) (“because pro se means to appear for one’s self, a person may not appear on
another person’s behalf”). Accordingly, S.S-M. is dropped from this Complaint without prejudice to rejoining if
represented by counsel.
2-4.) On January 29, 2025, the Court received IFP applications from Plaintiffs Hadiqia
McQueen, Alonda Browne, and Dayquan Bullock. (ECF Nos. 6-8.) However, the applications
do not contain sufficient information for the Court to determine whether they are entitled to
proceed IFP, as each application claims zero income, assets, and expenses. See Id.
Under 28 U.S.C. § 1914(a), the filing fee to commence a civil action is $350, plus an
additional cost of $55, for a total fee of $405. Under 28 U.S.C. § 1915, the Court may waive the
filing fee upon finding a plaintiff to be indigent. A litigant qualifies to proceed IFP if he
“cannot because of his poverty ‘pay or give security for” the costs of filing “and still be able to
provide’ himself and dependents ‘with the necessities of life.’” Adkins v. E.I. DuPont de
Nemours & Co., 335 U.S. 331, 339 (1948). A plaintiff seeking to proceed IFP must submit an
affidavit stating “that the person is unable to pay” filing fees “or give security therefor” and must
also include “a statement of all assets” the person possesses. 28 U.S.C. § 1915(a)(1). A court
may dismiss a case that has been filed IFP if the court determines that the plaintiff’s “allegation
of poverty is untrue.” 28 U.S.C. § 1915(e)(2)(A). The question of whether a plaintiff qualifies
for IFP status is within the discretion of the district court. Chowdhury v. Sadovnik, No. 17-CV-
2613 (PKC), 2017 WL 4083157, at *1 (E.D.N.Y. Sept. 14, 2017) (citing Pinede v. New York
City Dep't of Env't Prot., No. 12-CV-06344 CBA, 2013 WL 1410380, at *2 (E.D.N.Y. Apr. 8,
2013); DiGianni v. Pearson Educ., No. 10 CV 206 RJD LB, 2010 WL 1741373, at *1 (E.D.N.Y.
Apr. 30, 2010)).
In this case, Plaintiffs Hadiqia McQueen, Alonda Browne, and Dayquan Bullock each
state in their respective IFP applications that they have no income, assets, or living expenses.
(See ECF Nos. 6-8.) Yet, their Complaint claims that McQueen and Browne are leaseholders on
the apartment where the events giving rise to this litigation occurred. (Compl. at 10.)2 The
applications do not explain how Plaintiffs meet their living expenses with no assets and no
income. On the basis of Plaintiffs’ incomplete applications, the Court is unable to find that they
are entitled to proceed IFP. Accordingly, Plaintiffs’ motions for leave to proceed in forma
pauperis are denied without prejudice. The Court directs Plaintiffs to each complete the Long
Form IFP application or to pay the $405 filing fee to the Clerk of Court of the Eastern District of
New York within 14 days from the date of this Order. If Plaintiffs fail either to submit
completed IFP applications or to remit the filing fee within the time allowed, the action shall be
dismissed without prejudice.
The Clerk of Court is requested to amend the caption to replace the full name of the
minor plaintiff with initials and to dismiss that individual from this action. The Clerk is also
requested to send a copy of this order to the remaining three Plaintiffs, along with copies of the
Long Form IFP application.3
SO ORDERED.
/s/ LDH
LASHANN DEARCY HALL
United States District Judge
Dated: April 23, 2025
Brooklyn, New York
2 As the Complaint includes addenda and exhibits that are not numbered, the Court refers to the pages assigned by
the Electronic Case Filing System (“ECF”).
3 A fillable version of the Long Form IFP application is also available on the Court’s website at
https://www.uscourts.gov/sites/default/files/ao239 1.pdf.