Deleon v. Otis Bantum Correctional Facility
- Laura Swain
- 1:24-cv-09631
- U.S. District Court · Southern District of New York
- 1
In Deleon v. Otis Bantum Correctional Facility, Judge Swain dismissed the complaint without prejudice after Deleon neither paid filing fees nor submitted required forms.
Damien Deleon’s complaint was dismissed without prejudice because he did not pay the filing fees or submit the required fee-waiver documents. The court also denied fee-waiver status for an appeal.
What happened
Deleon v. Otis Bantum Correctional Facility concerned the court’s order requiring Damien Deleon to either pay the $405 filing fee or submit an application to proceed without paying it and the required authorization.
The court had given Deleon thirty days to comply and warned that failing to do so would result in dismissal. Deleon did not submit the required documents or pay the fees.
Chief Judge Laura Taylor Swain dismissed the complaint without prejudice, meaning the dismissal did not bar refiling. The court also denied the ability to appeal without paying the filing fee and directed the Clerk of Court to enter judgment.
The detailed version
- Deleon v. Otis Bantum Correctional Facility · No. 1:24-cv-09631
- Laura Swain
- Mar. 17, 2025
Background
By an order dated December 17, 2024, the court directed Damien Deleon to submit, within thirty days, a completed application to proceed without paying the filing fee or to pay the $405 in fees required to file a civil action. The order also required a prisoner authorization with the fee-waiver application and warned that failing to comply would result in dismissal.
Ruling
Deleon did not submit the application and prisoner authorization and did not pay the filing fees. Chief Judge Laura Taylor Swain therefore 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 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.