Curry v. Black
- Gregory Woods
- 1:24-cv-04603
- U.S. District Court · Southern District of New York
- 5
In Curry v. Black, Judge Swain ordered John Curry to pay filing fees or submit forms requesting permission to proceed without prepayment.
John Curry must either pay the required fees or submit the required application and prisoner authorization within 30 days to keep the action moving. The defendants are not required to respond at this stage, and the underlying claims were not decided.
What happened
In Curry v. Black, John Curry, who is incarcerated and representing himself, filed a civil case without paying the required fees or submitting the required forms. The opinion does not address the underlying claims against Parole Officer L. Black and the other defendants.
The court gave Curry 30 days to either pay $405 in fees or submit a signed application to proceed without prepaying fees and a prisoner authorization. If he submits the forms, the $350 filing fee would be collected from his prison account in installments; the $55 administrative fee would not apply if permission is granted.
The order states that no summons would issue yet and that the case would be processed if Curry complied. It also states that the action would be dismissed if he did not comply and denies permission to appeal without prepaying fees. The order was signed by Chief Judge Laura Taylor Swain.
The detailed version
- Curry v. Black · No. 1:24-cv-04603
- Gregory Woods
- July 2, 2024
Background
John Curry filed a civil action against Parole Officer L. Black and other defendants. The opinion states that Curry is incarcerated at Eric M. Taylor Center and is proceeding without a lawyer. He submitted his complaint without paying the filing fees and without submitting a completed application to proceed without prepaying fees or a prisoner authorization.
Court’s order
The court explained that a prisoner filing a civil action must either pay $405 in fees—a $350 filing fee and a $55 administrative fee—or request permission to proceed without prepaying fees by submitting a signed application and a prisoner authorization. If the court grants the application, the Prison Litigation Reform Act requires collection of the $350 filing fee in installments from the prisoner’s account. The $55 administrative fee does not apply to a person granted permission to proceed without prepaying fees.
The court ordered Curry, within 30 days of July 2, 2024, to do one of two things: pay the $405 in fees, or submit the application and prisoner authorization labeled with docket number 24-CV-4603 (LTS). The order states that no summons would issue at that time. If Curry complied, the case would be processed under the Clerk’s Office procedures. If he failed to comply within the allowed time, the action would be dismissed.
Other ruling
The court certified under 28 U.S.C. § 1915(a)(3) that an appeal from the order would not be taken in good faith and denied permission to appeal without prepaying fees. The opinion does not decide the merits of Curry’s claims against the defendants. It also cautions that certain future dismissals could count as “strikes” under 28 U.S.C. § 1915(g).
Read the full 5-page opinion on CourtListener, the free public archive maintained by the Free Law Project.