Bennett v. Otis Bantum Correctional Center
- Laura Swain
- 1:24-cv-09608
- U.S. District Court · Southern District of New York
- 1
In Bennett v. Otis Bantum Correctional Facility, Judge Swain dismissed the complaint without prejudice after Bennett neither paid the fees nor submitted required forms.
Michael Bennett's complaint was dismissed without prejudice because he did not submit the required fee-waiver materials or pay the filing fee. Fee-waiver status was also denied for any appeal.
What happened
In Bennett v. Otis Bantum Correctional Facility, Michael Bennett was ordered to submit an application to proceed without paying filing fees and a prisoner authorization, or pay the $405 filing fee.
Bennett did not submit the required documents or pay the fee. The court therefore dismissed the complaint without prejudice, meaning the dismissal did not bar refiling.
Chief Judge Laura Taylor Swain also denied fee-waiver status for any appeal and directed the Clerk of Court to enter judgment.
The detailed version
- Bennett v. Otis Bantum Correctional Center · No. 1:24-cv-09608
- Laura Swain
- Mar. 14, 2025
Background
On December 17, 2024, the court directed Michael Bennett to submit a completed application to proceed without paying filing fees and a prisoner authorization within 30 days, or to pay the $405 in fees required to file a civil action. The order warned that failing to comply would result in dismissal.
Ruling
The court found that Bennett had not submitted the application or prisoner authorization and had not paid the required fees. It dismissed the complaint without prejudice under 28 U.S.C. §§ 1914 and 1915. The court also certified that any appeal would not be taken in good faith and denied fee-waiver status for purposes of an appeal. It directed the Clerk of Court to enter judgment.
Read the full 1-page opinion on CourtListener, the free public archive maintained by the Free Law Project.