Arnold v. Piacente
- Laura Swain
- 1:24-cv-08799
- U.S. District Court · Southern District of New York
- 3
Arnold v. Piacente: Judge Swain gave Arnold 30 more days to submit a prisoner authorization and denied fee-free appeal status.
Johnathan Arnold, who must submit the prisoner authorization within the additional 30-day period or pay the required filing fees to proceed; any appeal from this order cannot proceed without prepayment of fees.
What happened
In Arnold v. Piacente, Johnathan Arnold filed the case without a lawyer and asked to proceed without paying filing fees upfront. The court had ordered him to pay $405 or submit a prisoner authorization, and later learned that he had retained pro bono counsel, although counsel had not formally appeared.
The court treated Arnold’s fee-waiver application as a request to proceed without paying the fees upfront. It gave him an additional 30 days to submit the required prisoner authorization so the case could proceed.
Judge Laura Taylor Swain also ruled that any appeal from this order would not be taken in good faith and denied fee-free status for an appeal.
The detailed version
- Arnold v. Piacente · No. 1:24-cv-08799
- Laura Swain
- Feb. 19, 2025
Background
Johnathan Arnold initiated this action without a lawyer by filing a complaint and an application to proceed without paying filing fees upfront. On December 2, 2024, the Court directed him either to pay $405 in fees or to submit a prisoner authorization. On December 19, 2024, counsel stated that Arnold had retained Schulte Roth + Zabel on a pro bono basis and therefore no longer needed to file a prisoner authorization. Counsel also stated an intention to seek consolidation with another pending action. As of the order’s date, however, counsel had not filed a formal notice of appearance in this action.
Ruling
The Court stated that Arnold must pay the fees or ask for a waiver. Because he had submitted an application to proceed without paying the fees upfront, the Court treated that application as a request for a waiver and granted him an additional 30 days to submit the attached prisoner authorization. The Court directed the Clerk to mail the order to Arnold and to Daryoush Behbood at Schulte Roth + Zabel.
The Court certified under 28 U.S.C. § 1915(a)(3) that any appeal from the order would not be taken in good faith and denied fee-waiver status for purposes of an appeal. The order addresses filing requirements and appeal-fee status; it does not decide the underlying claims.
Effect
The action was not resolved on its underlying claims by this order. Arnold was given additional time to complete the fee-related requirement, while fee-waiver status for an appeal from this order was denied.
Read the full 3-page opinion on CourtListener, the free public archive maintained by the Free Law Project.