Akinlawon v. Hochul
- Laura Swain
- 1:24-cv-08529
- U.S. District Court · Southern District of New York
- 1
In Akinlawon v. Hochul, Chief Judge Swain dismissed the complaint without prejudice because Akinlawon neither submitted authorization nor paid $405 in fees.
Plaintiff Ayotunji Akinlawon’s complaint was dismissed without prejudice because he did not submit the required updated prisoner authorization or pay the $405 filing fee. The court also denied fee-free status for an appeal.
What happened
In Akinlawon v. Hochul, the court had ordered Akinlawon to submit an updated prisoner authorization or pay the $405 filing fee within 30 days.
Akinlawon did neither. The court therefore dismissed the complaint without prejudice, meaning the dismissal itself did not bar refiling, and directed the clerk to enter judgment.
Chief Judge Laura Taylor Swain also denied fee-free status for any appeal after certifying that an appeal would not be taken in good faith.
The detailed version
- Akinlawon v. Hochul · No. 1:24-cv-08529
- Laura Swain
- Jan. 17, 2025
Background
On November 13, 2024, the court ordered Plaintiff Ayotunji Akinlawon to submit an updated prisoner authorization or pay the $405 fee required to file a civil action. The order gave him 30 days and warned that failing to comply would result in dismissal.
Ruling
Akinlawon did not submit the updated authorization and did not pay the filing fee. Chief United States District Judge Laura Taylor Swain therefore dismissed the complaint without prejudice under 28 U.S.C. §§ 1914 and 1915. The order did not address the underlying claims.
Appeal and Judgment
The court certified under 28 U.S.C. § 1915(a)(3) that any appeal would not be taken in good faith and denied fee-free status for purposes of an appeal. The court also directed the clerk to enter judgment.
Read the full 1-page opinion on CourtListener, the free public archive maintained by the Free Law Project.