Arciola v. New York State D.O.C.C.S.
- Laura Swain
- 1:25-cv-03986
- U.S. District Court · Southern District of New York
- 3
In Arciola v. New York State D.O.C.C.S., Judge Swain ordered the plaintiff to submit required documents or pay filing fees before the case proceeds.
Michael Arciola must either pay the required fees or submit the prisoner authorization and an original signed complaint page within 30 days for the case to proceed. The defendants were not required to respond at this stage, and no summons issued.
What happened
Michael Arciola sued New York State D.O.C.C.S. and other defendants while representing himself and being detained in the Dutchess County Jail. He submitted a complaint with an application to proceed without paying the fees upfront, but he did not submit the required prisoner authorization, and his complaint was unsigned.
The court gave Arciola 30 days to either pay the $405 filing and administrative fees or submit the prisoner authorization. He must also submit an original signed signature page for his complaint. The prisoner authorization would allow filing-fee payments to be deducted from his account in installments if the court permits him to proceed without paying the fees upfront.
In Arciola v. New York State D.O.C.C.S., Judge Laura Taylor Swain directed that no summons issue yet and stated that the case would be processed if Arciola complies. The court said the action will be dismissed if he does not comply within the allowed time and denied fee-free status for any appeal from this order.
The detailed version
- Arciola v. New York State D.O.C.C.S. · No. 1:25-cv-03986
- Laura Swain
- May 14, 2025
Background
Michael Arciola, who was detained in the Dutchess County Jail, filed this action without a lawyer against New York State D.O.C.C.S. and other defendants. The complaint was submitted with an application to proceed without prepaying filing fees, but it did not include the required prisoner authorization. The complaint also did not contain Arciola's signature.
Required filing-fee documents
The court explained that filing a civil action requires either payment of $405—consisting of a $350 filing fee and a $55 administrative fee—or an application to proceed without prepaying fees, along with a prisoner authorization. If the court grants the fee-waiver application, the Prison Litigation Reform Act requires the $350 filing fee to be collected in installments from the prisoner's account. The authorization also directs the detention facility to make those deductions and provide certified copies of the prisoner's account statements for the previous six months.
The court ordered Arciola, within 30 days of the order, to either pay the $405 in fees or submit the attached prisoner authorization labeled with docket number 25-CV-3986 (LTS). The order notes that the $55 administrative fee does not apply to people granted permission to proceed without prepaying fees.
Signature requirement
The court relied on Rule 11(a) of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, which requires an unrepresented party to sign a pleading personally. It directed Arciola to submit the complaint's signature page with an original signature within 30 days. A copy of the signature page was attached to the order.
Disposition
The court ordered that no summons issue at that time. It stated that the case would be processed according to the Clerk's Office procedures if Arciola complied with the order, but that the action would be dismissed if he failed to comply within the permitted time. The court also certified that any appeal from the order would not be taken in good faith and denied permission to proceed without prepaying fees for such an appeal. The order did not decide the underlying claims.
Read the full 3-page opinion on CourtListener, the free public archive maintained by the Free Law Project.