Maina v. Pauli
- Laura Swain
- 1:25-cv-00218
- U.S. District Court · Southern District of New York
- 5
In Maina v. Pauli, Judge Swain ordered Michelle Maina to pay fees or submit forms before the case could proceed.
Michelle Maina, who must either pay the required fees or submit the required financial forms and prisoner authorization for her case to proceed; C.O. Brian Pauli is the named defendant.
What happened
In Maina v. Pauli, Michelle Maina filed a civil action without paying the required fees or submitting a completed application to proceed without prepaying them. The order states that she is incarcerated and is representing herself.
The court gave Maina 30 days from January 22, 2025, to either pay $405 in fees or submit the required application and authorization for installment payments from her prison account. No summons would issue at that time.
If Maina complies, the clerk’s office will process the case under its procedures; if she does not, the action will be dismissed. Chief Judge Laura Taylor Swain also denied permission to appeal without prepaying fees, certifying that any appeal would not be taken in good faith.
The detailed version
- Maina v. Pauli · No. 1:25-cv-00218
- Laura Swain
- Jan. 22, 2025
Background
Michelle Maina filed this civil action against C.O. Brian Pauli without paying the filing fees and without submitting a completed application to proceed without prepaying fees or a prisoner authorization. The order states that Maina is incarcerated at Rose M. Singer Center and is representing herself.
Fees and required submissions
The court explained that a prisoner filing a civil action must either pay $405 in fees—$350 for filing and $55 for administration—or submit a signed application to proceed without prepaying fees and a prisoner authorization. If the court grants that application, the $350 filing fee must still be paid in installments deducted from the prisoner’s account. The authorization also directs the facility to provide certified account statements for the prior six months and to make the required deductions.
Within 30 days of the order, Maina must either pay the $405 or submit the application and authorization, labeled with docket number 1:25-CV-00218 (LTS). The court ordered that no summons issue at that time. If Maina complies, the clerk’s office will process the case under its procedures; if she fails to comply within the allowed time, the action will be dismissed.
Appeal-related ruling
The court certified that any appeal from the order would not be taken in good faith and denied permission to appeal without prepaying fees. The order did not decide the underlying claims against C.O. Brian Pauli. Chief Judge Laura Taylor Swain signed the order.
Read the full 5-page opinion on CourtListener, the free public archive maintained by the Free Law Project.