Kenan v. John and Jim Doe
- Laura Swain
- 1:25-cv-00098
- U.S. District Court · Southern District of New York
- 6
In Kenan v. John and Jim Doe, Judge Swain ordered James Kenan to pay fees or submit authorization within 30 days while his prisoner status remained unclear.
James Kenan must either pay the required fees or submit the specified authorization or declaration within 30 days for the action to proceed. The order does not yet rule on the claims against the defendants.
What happened
James Kenan filed Kenan v. John and Jim Doe without a lawyer and asked to proceed without paying court fees upfront. He stated that he was incarcerated, but the court could not determine whether he qualified as a prisoner under the applicable law.
The court ordered Kenan, within 30 days, either to pay $405 in fees or submit a signed prisoner authorization. That authorization would allow installment payments of the $350 filing fee from a prison account and would provide the required account records. If Kenan was not a prisoner when he filed the case, he must instead explain his status using the provided declaration form.
Judge Laura Taylor Swain ordered that no summons issue yet and said the case would be processed if Kenan complied. If he did not comply on time, the action would be dismissed. Judge Swain also denied fee-waiver status for any appeal, certifying that an appeal would not be taken in good faith.
The detailed version
- Kenan v. John and Jim Doe · No. 1:25-cv-00098
- Laura Swain
- Feb. 18, 2025
Background
James Kenan filed this civil action without a lawyer. The order states that he was then a patient at St. Lawrence Psychiatric Center in Ogdensburg, New York, and that he said he was incarcerated. Kenan submitted an application to proceed without prepaying court fees, but he did not submit the required prisoner authorization.
The court explained that a prisoner seeking to proceed without prepaying fees must authorize deductions from a prison account and provide certified account statements for the preceding six months. The court noted uncertainty about whether Kenan met the statutory definition of a prisoner. His answer identifying his place of incarceration was illegible. His complaint referred to correction officers at Rikers Island, and he stated that he was incarcerated at Green Haven Correctional Facility. The order also stated that publicly maintained records from the New York State Department of Corrections and Community Supervision did not show anyone under Kenan's name or identification number as incarcerated at Green Haven or any other facility operated by that agency, either currently or in the past.
Order
Within 30 days of February 18, 2025, Kenan must either pay $405 in fees—the $350 filing fee and the $55 administrative fee—or complete and submit the attached prisoner authorization. If he submits the authorization, it must identify docket number 25-CV-0098 (LTS). If he was not a prisoner, as defined by 28 U.S.C. § 1915(h), when he filed the action, he must explain his status at that time using the attached declaration form.
The order states that no summons will issue at this time. If Kenan complies, the case will be processed under the Clerk's Office procedures. If he does not comply within the permitted period, the action will be dismissed. The court also certified under 28 U.S.C. § 1915(a)(3) that any appeal from the order would not be taken in good faith and denied permission to proceed without prepaying fees for purposes of an appeal. Judge Laura Taylor Swain signed the order.
Read the full 6-page opinion on CourtListener, the free public archive maintained by the Free Law Project.