McGriff v. Otis Bantum Correctional Center
- Laura Swain
- 1:24-cv-09654
- U.S. District Court · Southern District of New York
- 2
In McGriff v. Otis Bantum Correctional Center, Judge Swain dismissed the complaint without prejudice because McGriff neither paid filing fees nor submitted required forms.
Damon McGriff’s complaint was dismissed without prejudice because he did not submit the required application and prisoner authorization or pay the filing fees. The court also denied permission to proceed without paying fees on appeal.
What happened
McGriff v. Otis Bantum Correctional Center involved a complaint that the court had ordered Damon McGriff to support with required filing materials or payment.
The court had given McGriff 30 days to submit an application to proceed without paying the filing fee, a required prisoner authorization, or the $405 filing fee. He did none of these. The opinion also notes that the earlier order was returned as undeliverable.
The court dismissed the complaint without prejudice and directed the clerk to enter judgment. Chief United States District Judge Laura Taylor Swain also denied permission to proceed without paying fees on appeal, finding that an appeal would not be taken in good faith.
The detailed version
- McGriff v. Otis Bantum Correctional Center · No. 1:24-cv-09654
- Laura Swain
- Feb. 20, 2025
Background
The court’s December 20, 2024 order required Damon McGriff, within 30 days, either to submit a completed application to proceed without paying the filing fee and a prisoner authorization or to pay the $405 required filing fees. That order warned that failing to comply would result in dismissal. The opinion states that McGriff did not submit the required application or authorization and did not pay the fees. It also states that the December order was returned as undeliverable.
Ruling
The court dismissed the complaint without prejudice under 28 U.S.C. §§ 1914 and 1915. “Without prejudice” means the dismissal did not bar a later filing based solely on this dismissal. The court directed the clerk to enter judgment.
Appeal-related ruling
The court certified under 28 U.S.C. § 1915(a)(3) that any appeal from the order would not be taken in good faith. It therefore denied permission to proceed without paying fees for an appeal. The opinion did not address the merits of the complaint.
Read the full 2-page opinion on CourtListener, the free public archive maintained by the Free Law Project.