Farmer v. Doe
- Laura Swain
- 1:25-cv-03514
- U.S. District Court · Southern District of New York
- 3
In Farmer v. Doe, Judge Swain ordered Richard Farmer to pay fees or submit forms and sign his complaint.
Richard Farmer, an incarcerated plaintiff representing himself, must meet the payment-or-application and signature requirements to continue the action against John Doe.
What happened
In Farmer v. Doe, Richard Farmer, who is incarcerated and representing himself, filed a civil action against John Doe without paying the required fees or submitting the forms needed to request permission to pay later. He also filed the complaint without a signature.
The court gave Farmer 30 days to either pay $405 or submit a completed application to proceed without prepaying fees and a prisoner authorization form. The authorization would allow installment payments from his prison account. The court also ordered him to submit an original signature page for the complaint. No summons will issue at this time, and the action will be dismissed if he does not comply within 30 days.
Judge Laura Taylor Swain issued the order directing payment or submission of the required forms and signature. She also denied permission to proceed without prepaying fees for any appeal, certifying that an appeal would not be taken in good faith.
The detailed version
- Farmer v. Doe · No. 1:25-cv-03514
- Laura Swain
- Apr. 30, 2025
Background
Richard Farmer, who is incarcerated at West Facility Annex on Rikers Island, filed this civil action against John Doe without a lawyer. He submitted the complaint without paying the required filing fees, without a completed application to proceed without prepaying fees, and without a prisoner authorization. He also submitted the complaint without a signature.
Court’s Order
The court explained that a prisoner filing a civil action must either pay $405 in fees—a $350 filing fee and a $55 administrative fee—or submit an application to proceed without prepaying fees and a prisoner authorization. If the court grants that application, the $350 filing fee is collected in installments from the prisoner’s account. The prisoner authorization also directs the facility to deduct those payments and provide certified account statements for the previous six months.
The court ordered Farmer, within 30 days of the order, to either pay the $405 in fees or submit the required application and prisoner authorization. The court also ordered him to submit the complaint’s signature page bearing an original signature within 30 days. The forms should identify docket number 25-CV-3514 (LTS).
Effect of the Order
No summons will issue at this time. If Farmer 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. The order also cautions that certain future dismissals could count as strikes under the Prison Litigation Reform Act, which can limit a prisoner’s ability to file later actions without prepaying fees. The court certified that an appeal from this order would not be taken in good faith and denied permission to proceed without prepaying fees for an appeal.
What the Court Did Not Decide
The order addresses filing requirements and does not decide the underlying claims in the complaint.
Read the full 3-page opinion on CourtListener, the free public archive maintained by the Free Law Project.