Black v. Dorsey
- Laura Swain
- 1:25-cv-00413
- U.S. District Court · Southern District of New York
- 2
In Black v. Dorsey, Judge Swain ordered Cory Black to pay fees or submit a prisoner authorization within 30 days.
Cory Black, who must either pay the required fees or submit the prisoner authorization within 30 days to avoid dismissal of the action.
What happened
In Black v. Dorsey, Cory Black filed a civil case without a lawyer while detained at the Otis Bantum Correctional Center. He submitted an application to proceed without paying the fees upfront, but he did not submit the required prisoner authorization.
The court gave Black 30 days to either pay $405 in fees or complete and submit the authorization. The authorization would allow installment payments of the $350 filing fee from his account and provide account statements. No summons will issue yet, and the court said the action will be dismissed if he does not comply.
Judge Laura Taylor Swain also denied permission to proceed without paying fees for an appeal, finding that an appeal would not be taken in good faith. The order did not decide the underlying claims.
The detailed version
- Black v. Dorsey · No. 1:25-cv-00413
- Laura Swain
- Jan. 21, 2025
Background
Cory Black, proceeding without a lawyer, filed a civil action against Deandre Dorsey and Matthew Cabillis. The opinion states that Black was detained at the Otis Bantum Correctional Center on Rikers Island.
Filing-fee requirement
A prisoner filing a civil action in the court must either pay $405 in fees—a $350 filing fee and a $55 administrative fee—or request permission to proceed without prepaying the fees. This request is called an application to proceed in forma pauperis, or IFP. Black submitted an IFP application but did not submit the required prisoner authorization.
The prisoner authorization directs the correctional facility to deduct the $350 filing fee from the prisoner’s account in installments and to send the court certified copies of the prisoner’s account statements for the previous six months. The $55 administrative fee does not apply to a person granted IFP status.
Court’s order
The court ordered Black, within 30 days of the order, to either pay the full $405 or complete and submit the attached prisoner authorization, labeled with docket number 25-CV-0413 (LTS). No summons shall issue at this time. If Black complies, the case will be processed under the Clerk’s Office procedures. If he does not comply within the allowed period, the action will be dismissed.
The court also certified under 28 U.S.C. § 1915(a)(3) that an appeal from the order would not be taken in good faith and denied IFP status for purposes of an appeal. The opinion additionally cautioned that certain dismissals of prisoner cases may count as strikes under 28 U.S.C. § 1915(g). The order did not address the merits of Black’s claims.
Read the full 2-page opinion on CourtListener, the free public archive maintained by the Free Law Project.