holding that appellant demonstrates good faith when seeking review of a nonfrivolous issue
How later courts described this case
- holding that appellant demonstrates good faith when seeking review of a nonfrivolous issue
Written by the judges who cited it.
The opinion
UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
SOUTHERN DISTRICT OF NEW YORK
PAUL BROWN,
Plaintiff,
21-CV-4632 (LTS)
-against-
ORDER DIRECTING PAYMENT OF FEES
OR IFP APPLICATION AND PRISONER
NEW YORK CITY DEPARTMENT OF
AUTHORIZATION
CORRECTION, RIKERS ISLAND,
Defendant.
LAURA TAYLOR SWAIN, Chief United States District Judge:
Plaintiff, who is currently incarcerated in Ulster Correctional Facility, brings this action
pro se.1 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 in
forma pauperis (IFP), that is, without prepayment of fees, submit a signed 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.2 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 fee from the prisoner’s
1 At the time he filed the complaint, Plaintiff was held in the Anna M. Kross Center on
Rikers Island. Records maintained by the New York City Department of Correction and the New
York State Department of Corrections and Community Supervision show that on May 13, 2021,
Plaintiff was transferred to Ulster Correctional Facility.
2 The $52.00 administrative fee for filing a civil action does not apply to persons granted
IFP status under 28 U.S.C. § 1915.
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).
Plaintiff submitted the complaint without the filing fees or a completed IFP application
and prisoner authorization. Within thirty days of the date of this order, Plaintiff must either pay
the $402.00 in fees or submit the attached IFP application and prisoner authorization. If Plaintiff
submits the IFP application and prisoner authorization, they should be labeled with docket
number 21-CV-4632 (LTS).3
The Clerk of Court is directed to mail a copy of this order to Plaintiff and note service on
the docket. No summons shall issue at this time. If Plaintiff complies with this order, the case
shall be processed in accordance with the procedures of the Clerk’s Office. If Plaintiff fails to
comply with this order within the time allowed, the action will be dismissed.
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: May 25, 2021
New York, New York
/s/ Laura Taylor Swain
LAURA TAYLOR SWAIN
Chief United States District Judge
3 Plaintiff is cautioned that if a prisoner files a federal civil action that is dismissed as
frivolous or 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 federal civil actions IFP as a
prisoner, unless he is under imminent danger of serious physical injury, and must pay the filing
fees at the time of filing any new federal civil action.