Torres v. Otis Bantum Correctional Center
- Laura Swain
- 1:24-cv-09652
- U.S. District Court · Southern District of New York
- 1
Torres v. Otis Bantum Correctional Facility was dismissed without prejudice for nonpayment or missing forms, Judge Swain ruled.
Christopher Torres's complaint was dismissed without prejudice because he neither submitted the required fee-waiver materials nor paid the filing fees; the court also denied permission to appeal without prepaying fees.
What happened
In Torres v. Otis Bantum Correctional Facility, the court had ordered Christopher Torres to submit an application to proceed without paying filing fees, along with a required prisoner authorization, or pay the $405 filing fee. The deadline was 30 days.
Torres did not submit the required forms or pay the filing fee. The court therefore dismissed the complaint without prejudice, meaning the dismissal did not bar refiling. The court also directed the Clerk of Court to enter judgment.
Judge Laura Taylor Swain certified that an appeal would not be taken in good faith and denied Torres permission to appeal without paying fees. The order was entered on February 20, 2025.
The detailed version
- Torres v. Otis Bantum Correctional Center · No. 1:24-cv-09652
- Laura Swain
- Feb. 20, 2025
Background
The court had previously ordered Christopher Torres to either submit a completed application to proceed without prepaying filing fees, commonly called an application to proceed in forma pauperis, together with a prisoner authorization, or pay the $405 in fees required to file a civil action. The court's earlier order gave Torres 30 days to comply and warned that failing to do so would result in dismissal.
Ruling
The court found that Torres had not submitted the application or prisoner authorization and had not paid the filing fees. It therefore dismissed the complaint without prejudice under 28 U.S.C. §§ 1914 and 1915. The order also directed the Clerk of Court to enter judgment.
Appeal-Fee Ruling
Judge Laura Taylor Swain certified under 28 U.S.C. § 1915(a)(3) that any appeal from the order would not be taken in good faith. The court therefore denied permission to appeal without prepaying fees. The opinion does not address the merits of Torres's underlying claims.
Read the full 1-page opinion on CourtListener, the free public archive maintained by the Free Law Project.