Kenyatta v. Hall
- John Koeltl
- 1:25-cv-01973
- U.S. District Court · Southern District of New York
- 2
In Kenyatta v. Hall, Judge Swain ordered payment or an application to proceed without upfront fees within 30 days.
Charles Kenyatta, Jr., the incarcerated plaintiff representing himself, must either pay the required fees or submit the required application and prisoner authorization within 30 days to avoid dismissal of the action.
What happened
In Kenyatta v. Hall, Charles Kenyatta, Jr., who is incarcerated at Collins Correctional Facility and represents himself, filed a civil action without paying the required fees or submitting the required forms.
The court gave him 30 days to either pay $405 or submit a signed application to proceed without prepaying fees and a prisoner authorization. No summons will issue yet, and the action will be dismissed if he does not comply within that period.
Chief Judge Laura Taylor Swain also denied permission to proceed without prepaying fees for any appeal from this order, after certifying that such an appeal would not be taken in good faith.
The detailed version
- Kenyatta v. Hall · No. 1:25-cv-01973
- John Koeltl
- Mar. 13, 2025
Background
Charles Kenyatta, Jr. filed this civil action while incarcerated at Collins Correctional Facility and is representing himself. He submitted the complaint without paying the filing fees and without a completed application to proceed without prepaying fees or a prisoner authorization.
Order
The court explained that a prisoner starting a civil action must either pay $405 in fees—$350 for filing and $55 for administration—or submit the required application and authorization. If the court approves the application, the $350 filing fee must be collected in installments from the prisoner’s account. The prisoner authorization allows the facility to deduct those installments and requires certified account statements for the preceding six months.
The court ordered Kenyatta, within 30 days of the order, to either pay the $405 or submit the application and prisoner authorization, labeled with docket number 1:25-CV-1973 (LTS). No summons shall issue at this time. If he complies, the case will be processed under the Clerk’s Office procedures; if he does not comply within the allowed time, the action will be dismissed.
Appeal and classification
Chief Judge Laura Taylor Swain certified under 28 U.S.C. § 1915(a)(3) that an appeal from the order would not be taken in good faith and denied permission to proceed without prepaying fees for purposes of an appeal. The order also cautioned that certain dismissals may count as strikes under the prisoner litigation statute. This is a procedural order concerning filing fees and required forms; it does not decide the underlying claims.
Read the full 2-page opinion on CourtListener, the free public archive maintained by the Free Law Project.