Kenan v. John and Jim Doe
- Laura Swain
- 1:25-cv-00098
- U.S. District Court · Southern District of New York
- 1
Kenan v. John and Jim Doe: Judge Swain dismissed the complaint without prejudice because Kenan neither paid filing fees nor submitted prisoner authorization.
James Kenan’s complaint was dismissed without prejudice; the order also denied fee-free status for any appeal and directed entry of judgment.
What happened
In Kenan v. John and Jim Doe, the court ordered James Kenan to submit a completed prisoner authorization or pay the $405 filing fee within 30 days.
Kenan did neither. The court had warned that failing to comply would result in dismissal, so it dismissed the complaint without prejudice.
Chief United States District Judge Laura Taylor Swain also denied fee-free status for any appeal, finding that an appeal would not be taken in good faith, and directed the Clerk of Court to enter judgment.
The detailed version
- Kenan v. John and Jim Doe · No. 1:25-cv-00098
- Laura Swain
- Apr. 21, 2025
Background
In an order dated February 18, 2025, the court directed James Kenan to submit a completed prisoner authorization or pay the $405 filing fee required to bring a civil action. The order stated that failure to comply would result in dismissal of the complaint.
Court’s Analysis
The court found that Kenan had not submitted the required prisoner authorization and had not paid the filing fee. The opinion did not address the underlying claims against John and Jim Doe or John Doe.
Ruling
The court dismissed the complaint without prejudice under 28 U.S.C. §§ 1914 and 1915. It also certified under 28 U.S.C. § 1915(a)(3) that an appeal would not be taken in good faith and denied fee-free status for purposes of an appeal. 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.