Bailey v. Doe
- Laura Swain
- 1:25-cv-02257
- U.S. District Court · Southern District of New York
- 5
In Bailey v. Doe, Judge Swain ordered Trevor Bailey to pay fees or submit forms within 30 days or face dismissal.
Trevor Bailey, an incarcerated plaintiff representing himself, must either pay the required fees or submit the required IFP application and prisoner authorization within 30 days to avoid dismissal of the action.
What happened
Bailey v. Doe concerns Trevor Bailey’s civil action, which he filed without paying the required fees or submitting a completed application to proceed without prepaying fees and a prisoner authorization. The order states that Bailey is incarcerated and representing himself without a lawyer.
The court gave Bailey 30 days to either pay $405 in fees or submit the required application and authorization. If he applies to proceed without prepaying fees, the $350 filing fee would still be collected from his account in installments. No summons will issue at this time.
Judge Swain ordered that the case be processed under the Clerk’s Office procedures if Bailey complies. The order states that the action will be dismissed if he does not comply within the 30-day period, and it denies fee-free status for any appeal from the order.
The detailed version
- Bailey v. Doe · No. 1:25-cv-02257
- Laura Swain
- Mar. 25, 2025
What the order is about
Trevor Bailey filed a civil action without paying the filing fees and without submitting a completed application to proceed without prepaying fees, commonly called an IFP application, or a prisoner authorization. The order states that Bailey is incarcerated at the Rikers Island – West Facility Annex and is representing himself without a lawyer.
Payment or application required
The court explained that a prisoner starting a civil action must either pay $405 in fees—a $350 filing fee and a $55 administrative fee—or submit a signed IFP application and prisoner authorization. An IFP application requests permission to proceed without paying fees in advance. If granted, the $350 filing fee must still be paid in installments deducted from the prisoner’s account. The prisoner authorization permits the facility to make those deductions and provide the court with certified account statements for the previous six months.
The court ordered Bailey, within 30 days of March 25, 2025, to pay the $405 or submit the attached IFP application and prisoner authorization, labeled with docket number 1:25-CV-2257 (LTS). No summons will issue at this time. If Bailey 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.
Other ruling
The court certified that any appeal from the order would not be taken in good faith and denied IFP status for purposes of an appeal. The order does not decide the underlying claims in Bailey’s complaint.
Judge
Chief United States District Judge Laura Taylor Swain signed the order on March 25, 2025.
Read the full 5-page opinion on CourtListener, the free public archive maintained by the Free Law Project.