Rivas v. Rikers Island
- Laura Swain
- 1:25-cv-04486
- U.S. District Court · Southern District of New York
- 5
In Rivas v. Rikers Island, Judge Swain ordered Christopher Rivas to pay fees or submit prisoner forms within 30 days before the case could proceed.
Christopher Rivas must either pay the required fees or submit the specified application and prisoner authorization within 30 days. The action will be dismissed if he does not comply.
What happened
In Rivas v. Rikers Island, Christopher Rivas, who is incarcerated at Rikers Island and is representing himself, filed a civil action without paying the required fees or submitting the paperwork needed to request payment relief.
The court ordered Rivas, within 30 days, either to pay $405 in fees or submit a signed application to proceed without paying fees upfront and a prisoner authorization. The authorization would allow the filing fee to be deducted from his prison account in installments. The court said the case would be processed if he complied and dismissed if he did not.
Chief Judge Laura Taylor Swain also said that any appeal from the order would not be considered a good-faith appeal and denied payment relief for an appeal. The order did not decide the underlying claims.
The detailed version
- Rivas v. Rikers Island · No. 1:25-cv-04486
- Laura Swain
- June 3, 2025
Background
Christopher Rivas filed a civil action against Rikers Island while incarcerated at Rikers Island—GRVC. He is representing himself. He submitted the complaint without paying the required fees and without completing an application to proceed without prepaying fees or a prisoner authorization.
Fee requirements
The court explained that a prisoner bringing a civil action must either pay $405—consisting of a $350 filing fee and a $55 administrative fee—or request permission to proceed without prepaying fees by submitting a signed application and a prisoner authorization. Even if the court grants that 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 facility to deduct those payments and provide certified account statements for the previous six months.
Order
The court gave Rivas 30 days from the date of the order to pay the $405 or submit the completed fee application and prisoner authorization, labeled with docket number 25-CV-4486 (LTS). No answer from the defendant was required at that stage. The court stated that, if Rivas complied, the case would be processed under the Clerk's Office procedures; if he failed to comply within the allowed time, the action would be dismissed.
Appeal and scope of the ruling
Chief Judge Laura Taylor Swain 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. The order addressed filing-fee and payment requirements; it did not decide the merits of Rivas's underlying claims.
Read the full 5-page opinion on CourtListener, the free public archive maintained by the Free Law Project.