Lopez v. Otis Bantum Correctional Facility
- Laura Swain
- 1:24-cv-09642
- U.S. District Court · Southern District of New York
- 1
In Lopez v. Otis Bantum Correctional Facility, Judge Swain dismissed the complaint without prejudice because Lopez neither paid filing fees nor submitted required forms.
Alfred Lopez's complaint was dismissed without prejudice after he did not submit the required fee-waiver materials or pay the filing fee. The order also denied fee-free appeal status.
What happened
In Lopez v. Otis Bantum Correctional Facility, the court had ordered Alfred Lopez to submit an application to proceed without paying filing fees, along with a required prisoner authorization, or pay the $405 filing fee.
Lopez did not submit the application and authorization or pay the fee. The court therefore dismissed the complaint without prejudice, meaning it was not permanently barred from being filed again. The court also denied permission to appeal without paying fees and directed the Clerk of Court to enter judgment.
Judge Laura Taylor Swain ruled that any appeal would not be taken in good faith and denied fee-free appeal status. The order was entered on March 17, 2025.
The detailed version
- Lopez v. Otis Bantum Correctional Facility · No. 1:24-cv-09642
- Laura Swain
- Mar. 17, 2025
Background
On December 19, 2024, the Court ordered Alfred Lopez to do one of two things within 30 days: submit a completed application to proceed without paying filing fees, together with a prisoner authorization, or pay the $405 required filing fees for a civil action. The order warned that failing to comply would result in dismissal.
Ruling
The Court found that Lopez had done neither. It dismissed the complaint without prejudice under 28 U.S.C. §§ 1914 and 1915. The order also states that the Court certified under 28 U.S.C. § 1915(a)(3) that any appeal would not be taken in good faith, so permission to appeal without paying fees was denied. The Court 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.