Limanskyi v. White Plains Hospital
- Laura Swain
- 1:25-cv-02239
- U.S. District Court · Southern District of New York
- 3
In Limanskyi v. White Plains Hospital, Judge Swain ordered a self-represented prisoner to pay fees or submit authorization before the case proceeds.
Kostiantyn Limanskyi, a self-represented incarcerated plaintiff, must either pay the required fees or submit the prisoner authorization within 30 days for the case to proceed.
What happened
In Limanskyi v. White Plains Hospital, the plaintiff, who is incarcerated at Westchester County Jail and represents himself, submitted an application to proceed without paying fees upfront but did not submit the required prisoner authorization.
The court gave the plaintiff 30 days to either pay $405 in fees or submit the authorization. The authorization permits installment payments of the $350 filing fee from his prison account and requires certified account statements. No summons will issue yet, and the case will be processed if he complies; otherwise, the action will be dismissed.
Judge Laura Taylor Swain also denied permission to appeal this order without paying appeal fees, finding that an appeal would not be taken in good faith. The order did not decide the underlying claims.
The detailed version
- Limanskyi v. White Plains Hospital · No. 1:25-cv-02239
- Laura Swain
- Mar. 20, 2025
Background
Kostiantyn Limanskyi brought the action against White Plains Hospital and other defendants while incarcerated at Westchester County Jail. He is proceeding without a lawyer. He submitted an application to proceed in forma pauperis (IFP), meaning without prepaying the filing fees, but he did not submit the required prisoner authorization.
Required Filing or Payment
The court explained that a prisoner must either pay $405 in fees—a $350 filing fee and a $55 administrative fee—or submit a signed IFP application and prisoner authorization. Because Limanskyi already submitted an IFP application, the court ordered him, within 30 days of the order, to either pay the $405 or complete and submit the attached prisoner authorization labeled with docket number 1:25-CV-2239 (LTS).
The authorization would direct the agency holding Limanskyi in custody to provide certified copies of his prison-account statements for the previous six months and deduct the $350 filing fee from his account in installments. The order explains that the $55 administrative fee does not apply to a person granted IFP status.
Disposition
The court ordered that no summons issue at that time. If Limanskyi complies, the case will be processed under the Clerk’s Office procedures. If he does not comply within the allowed period, the action will be dismissed. Judge Laura Taylor Swain certified that an appeal from the order would not be taken in good faith and denied IFP status for purposes of an appeal. The order did not address the merits of the claims.
Read the full 3-page opinion on CourtListener, the free public archive maintained by the Free Law Project.