Maina v. Pauli
- Laura Swain
- 1:25-cv-00218
- U.S. District Court · Southern District of New York
- 2
In Maina v. Pauli, Judge Swain dismissed the action without prejudice because Maina did not pay fees or submit required forms and signature.
Michelle Maina’s action against C.O. Brian Pauli was dismissed without prejudice because Maina did not complete the required fee-or-application and signature requirements.
What happened
In Maina v. Pauli, the court had ordered Michelle Maina to either pay the filing fees or submit an application to proceed without paying them, along with required prisoner paperwork. The court also ordered her to resubmit the complaint’s signature page with her original signature.
Maina did not complete those requirements within the time allowed. The court therefore dismissed the action without prejudice, meaning the dismissal did not bar a new filing.
Judge Laura Taylor Swain also denied Maina permission to appeal without paying fees, finding that an appeal would not be taken in good faith. The clerk was directed to enter judgment dismissing the action.
The detailed version
- Maina v. Pauli · No. 1:25-cv-00218
- Laura Swain
- Mar. 28, 2025
Background
Michelle Maina brought this action against C.O. Brian Pauli. The court’s January 22, 2025 orders required Maina, within 30 days, to do both of the following:
1. Submit a completed application to proceed without paying the filing fee and the required prisoner authorization, or pay the $405 filing fee; and 2. Resubmit the complaint’s signature page with her original signature.
The orders warned that failing to comply would result in dismissal.
Ruling
Maina did not submit the application and prisoner authorization or pay the required fees. She also did not resubmit the signature page with her original signature. The court dismissed the action without prejudice under 28 U.S.C. §§ 1914 and 1915 and Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 11(a). Because the court dismissed the action for failure to complete the required filing steps, it did not address the underlying claims.
The court certified under 28 U.S.C. § 1915(a)(3) that any appeal would not be taken in good faith and denied permission to appeal without paying appellate fees. The court directed the clerk to enter judgment dismissing the action.
Read the full 2-page opinion on CourtListener, the free public archive maintained by the Free Law Project.