Montague v. West Facility Annex
- Laura Swain
- 1:25-cv-03329
- U.S. District Court · Southern District of New York
- 5
In Montague v. West Facility Annex, Chief Judge Swain ordered Anthony Montague to pay fees or seek a fee waiver within 30 days.
Anthony Montague, the incarcerated plaintiff representing himself, must either pay the required fees or submit the required forms within 30 days to avoid dismissal of the action.
What happened
In Montague v. West Facility Annex, Anthony Montague, who is incarcerated at the Rikers Island–West Facility Annex, filed a civil lawsuit without paying the required fees or submitting the forms needed to request permission to proceed without paying them upfront.
The court gave Montague 30 days to either pay $405 in fees or submit a signed application to proceed without prepaying fees and a prisoner authorization. No summons will issue yet. If he does not comply, the action will be dismissed.
Chief Judge Laura Taylor Swain also ruled that any appeal from this order would not qualify for permission to proceed without prepaying appeal fees.
The detailed version
- Montague v. West Facility Annex · No. 1:25-cv-03329
- Laura Swain
- Apr. 30, 2025
Background
Anthony Montague filed this civil action without paying the filing fees and without submitting a completed application to proceed without prepaying fees or a prisoner authorization. The opinion states that Montague is incarcerated at the Rikers Island–West Facility Annex and is representing himself.
Applicable requirements
The court explained that a prisoner filing a civil action must either pay $405 in fees—$350 for the filing fee and $55 for the administrative fee—or request permission to proceed without prepaying fees. A prisoner requesting that permission must submit a signed application and a prisoner authorization. If permission is granted, the $350 filing fee must still be collected in installments from the prisoner’s account under the Prison Litigation Reform Act. The $55 administrative fee does not apply to a person granted that permission.
Order
Within 30 days of the order, Montague must either pay the $405 in fees or submit the required application and prisoner authorization, labeled with docket number 1:25-CV-3329. The court directed that no summons issue at this time. If Montague does not comply within the allowed period, the action will be dismissed. If he complies, the case will be processed under the Clerk’s Office procedures.
The court also certified that an appeal from this order would not be taken in good faith and denied permission to proceed without prepaying fees for purposes of an appeal. The opinion does not decide the underlying claims in the civil action.
Read the full 5-page opinion on CourtListener, the free public archive maintained by the Free Law Project.