Cruz v. Department of Corrections
- Laura Swain
- 1:25-cv-00369
- U.S. District Court · Southern District of New York
- 1
In Cruz v. Department of Corrections, Judge Swain dismissed the complaint without prejudice because Cruz neither paid filing fees nor submitted required forms.
Janice Cruz's complaint was dismissed without prejudice because she did not submit the required fee-waiver and prisoner-authorization forms or pay the filing fees. The court did not decide the claims against the Department of Corrections, Rikers Island, or Rose M. Singer.
What happened
In Cruz v. Department of Corrections, the court had ordered Janice Cruz to submit a request to proceed without paying filing fees and a prisoner authorization, or pay the $405 filing fee.
Cruz did not submit the required forms or pay the fee within the ordered thirty-day period. The court therefore dismissed the complaint without prejudice, meaning the dismissal did not permanently bar refiling.
Judge Laura Taylor Swain also denied Cruz permission to appeal without paying fees, finding that any appeal would not be taken in good faith, and directed the Clerk of Court to enter judgment.
The detailed version
- Cruz v. Department of Corrections · No. 1:25-cv-00369
- Laura Swain
- Mar. 20, 2025
Background
By an order dated January 17, 2025, the court directed Janice Cruz to submit a completed application to proceed without paying the filing fee, known as an application to proceed in forma pauperis, and a prisoner authorization. Alternatively, Cruz could pay the $405 in fees required to file a civil action in the court. The order warned that failure to comply within thirty days would result in dismissal.
Compliance and dismissal
The court stated that Cruz had not filed the application and prisoner authorization and had not paid the required fees. The court therefore dismissed the complaint without prejudice under 28 U.S.C. §§ 1914 and 1915.
Appeal and final action
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 Cruz permission to appeal without paying fees. Judge Laura Taylor Swain directed the Clerk of Court to enter judgment in the case.
Read the full 1-page opinion on CourtListener, the free public archive maintained by the Free Law Project.