Opinion
24-CV-0120 (LTS)
01-08-2024
KEITH RIVERS, Plaintiff, v. DEPARTMENT OF CORRECTIONS NYC, ET AL, Defendants.
ORDER DIRECTING PAYMENT OF FEE OR IFP APPLICATION AND PRISONER AUTHORIZATION
LAURA TAYLOR SWAIN, CHIEF UNITED STATES DISTRICT JUDGE.
Plaintiff, who is currently incarcerated at the Otis Bantum Correctional Center on Rikers Island, brings this action pro se. To proceed with a civil action in this Court, a prisoner must either pay $402.00 in fees - a $350.00 filing fee plus a $52.00 administrative fee - or, to request authorization to proceed without prepaying fees, submit a signed in forma pauperis (IFP) application and a prisoner authorization. See 28 U.S.C. §§ 1914, 1915.
If the Court grants a prisoner's IFP application, the Prison Litigation Reform Act requires the Court to collect the $350.00 filing fee in installments deducted from the prisoner's account. See 28 U.S.C. § 1915(b)(1). A prisoner seeking to proceed in this Court without prepayment of fees must therefore authorize the Court to withdraw these payments from his account by filing a “prisoner authorization,” which directs the facility where the prisoner is incarcerated to deduct the $350.00 filing feefrom the prisoner's account in installments and to send to the Court certified copies of the prisoner's account statements for the past six months. See 28 U.S.C. § 1915(a)(2), (b).
The $52.00 administrative fee for filing a civil action does not apply to persons granted IFP status under 28 U.S.C. § 1915.
Plaintiff submitted the complaint without the filing fees or a fully completed IFP application and prisoner authorization. The prisoner authorization form submitted authorizes withdrawal of $350.00 from Plaintiff's prison account, rather than the full $350.00.
Within thirty days of the date of this order, Plaintiff must either pay the $402.00 in fees or submit the attached amended IFP application and prisoner authorization forms. If Plaintiff submits the amended IFP application and prisoner authorization, they should be labeled with docket number 24-CV-120 (LTS). 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.
Plaintiff is cautioned that if a prisoner files an action that is dismissed as frivolous, malicious, or for failing to state a claim, the dismissal is a “strike” under 28 U.S.C. § 1915(g). A prisoner who receives three “strikes” cannot file actions in forma pauperis as a prisoner, unless he is under imminent danger of serious physical injury, and must pay the filing fee at the time of filing any new action.
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 in forma pauperis 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.
PRISONER AUTHORIZATION
By signing below, I acknowledge that:
(1) because I filed this action as a prisoner, I am required by statute (28 U.S.C. § 1915) to pay the full filing fees for this case, even if I am granted the right to proceed in forma pauperis (IFP), that is, without prepayment of fees;
(2) if I am granted IFP status, the full $350 filing fee will be deducted in installments from my prison account, even if my case is dismissed or I voluntarily withdraw it.
A “prisoner” is “any person incarcerated or detained in any facility who is accused of, convicted of, sentenced for, or adjudicated delinquent for, violations of criminal law or the terms or conditions of parole, probation, pretrial release, or diversionary program.” 28 U.S.C. § 1915(h).
I authorize the agency holding me in custody to:
(1) send a certified copy of my prison trust fund account statement for the past six months (from my current institution or any institution in which I was incarcerated during the past six months);
(2) calculate the amounts specified by 28 U.S.C. § 1915(b), deduct those amounts from my prison trust fund, and disburse those amounts to the Court.
This authorization applies to any agency into whose custody I may be transferred and to any other district court to which my case may be transferred.