Tohafjian v. Werlau
- Laura Swain
- 1:25-cv-04284
- U.S. District Court · Southern District of New York
- 2
In Tohafjian v. Werlau, Judge Swain ordered the incarcerated plaintiff to pay fees or submit authorization before the case could proceed.
Emerson Tohafjian, an incarcerated plaintiff proceeding without a lawyer, must either pay the required fees or submit the prisoner authorization within 30 days for the action to proceed.
What happened
In Tohafjian v. Werlau, Emerson Tohafjian filed the action without a lawyer and submitted an application to proceed without paying court fees upfront. He did not submit the required prisoner authorization.
The court gave him 30 days to either pay $405 in fees or complete and submit the authorization, which permits installment deductions from his prison account. The court will not issue a summons or consider his request for preliminary injunctive relief until he complies; failure to comply will result in dismissal of the action.
Judge Laura Taylor Swain also denied permission to appeal without paying fees, certifying that an appeal from this order would not be taken in good faith. The order did not address the merits of Tohafjian’s claims.
The detailed version
- Tohafjian v. Werlau · No. 1:25-cv-04284
- Laura Swain
- May 23, 2025
Background
Emerson Tohafjian, who is incarcerated at Green Haven Correctional Facility, brought this action without a lawyer against J. Werlau, M. Miller, and D. Martuscello, III. He submitted an application to proceed in forma pauperis (IFP), meaning without prepaying court fees, but did not submit the required prisoner authorization.
Court’s Order
The court explained that a prisoner must either pay $405 in fees—a $350 filing fee and a $55 administrative fee—or submit a signed IFP application and a prisoner authorization. If the court grants IFP status, the $350 filing fee is collected in installments from the prisoner’s account. The authorization directs the correctional facility to make those deductions and provide certified copies of the prisoner’s account statements for the preceding six months.
The court ordered Tohafjian, within 30 days of the order, to either pay the $405 or complete and submit the attached prisoner authorization, labeled with docket number 25-CV-4284 (LTS). No summons will issue at this time, and the court will not consider his request for preliminary injunctive relief until he complies. If he 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.
Appeal and Scope of the Order
The court certified under 28 U.S.C. § 1915(a)(3) that any appeal from this order would not be taken in good faith and denied IFP status for purposes of an appeal. The order did not decide the merits of Tohafjian’s underlying claims or his request for preliminary injunctive relief.
Read the full 2-page opinion on CourtListener, the free public archive maintained by the Free Law Project.