Bethen v. Otis Bantum Correctional Facility
- Laura Swain
- 1:24-cv-09658
- U.S. District Court · Southern District of New York
- 1
In Bethen v. Otis Bantum Correctional Facility, Chief Judge Swain dismissed the complaint without prejudice after Bethen neither paid filing fees nor submitted required forms.
Jerald Bethen's complaint against Otis Bantum Correctional Facility and the other named defendants was dismissed without prejudice because he did not submit the required filing materials or pay the filing fees.
What happened
In Bethen v. Otis Bantum Correctional Facility, the court had ordered Jerald Bethen to submit an application to proceed without paying the filing fee or pay the required $405 in filing fees within 30 days.
Bethen did not submit the required application and prisoner authorization, and he did not pay the filing fees. The court therefore dismissed the complaint without prejudice, meaning the dismissal did not bar refiling.
Chief Judge Laura Taylor Swain directed the clerk to enter judgment and denied Bethen permission to appeal without paying fees after certifying that an appeal would not be taken in good faith.
The detailed version
- Bethen v. Otis Bantum Correctional Facility · No. 1:24-cv-09658
- Laura Swain
- Feb. 19, 2025
Background
On December 20, 2024, the court directed Jerald Bethen, within 30 days, either to submit a completed application to proceed without paying the filing fee and a required prisoner authorization or to pay the $405 filing fee for a civil action. The order warned that failure to comply would result in dismissal of the complaint.
What the Court Decided
Bethen did not file the application or prisoner authorization and did not pay the filing fees. The court dismissed the complaint without prejudice under 28 U.S.C. §§ 1914 and 1915. The opinion does not address the underlying claims.
Other Orders
The court certified under 28 U.S.C. § 1915(a)(3) that any appeal would not be taken in good faith and denied permission to appeal without paying fees. Judge Laura Taylor Swain directed the clerk to enter judgment.
Read the full 1-page opinion on CourtListener, the free public archive maintained by the Free Law Project.