Grant v. Thomas
- Laura Swain
- 1:25-cv-04800
- U.S. District Court · Southern District of New York
- 2
Grant v. Thomas: Judge Swain ordered Edwin Grant to pay filing fees or submit prisoner authorization within 30 days.
Edwin Grant, an incarcerated plaintiff representing himself, and the processing of his civil action against C.O. Thomas and the other named defendants.
What happened
In Grant v. Thomas, Edwin Grant filed a civil case while incarcerated and asked to proceed without paying fees upfront. He submitted the required application but not the separate authorization allowing payments from his prisoner account.
The court gave Grant 30 days to pay $405 in fees or submit the prisoner authorization. If he complies, the case will be processed; if he does not, the action will be dismissed. No summons will issue yet.
Judge Laura Taylor Swain also denied permission to appeal without paying fees, finding that any appeal from this order would not be taken in good faith.
The detailed version
- Grant v. Thomas · No. 1:25-cv-04800
- Laura Swain
- June 16, 2025
Background
Edwin Grant, who is incarcerated at Green Haven Correctional Facility and is representing himself, filed this civil action and submitted an application to proceed without prepaying court fees. He did not submit the required prisoner authorization.
Under the cited federal statutes, a prisoner who seeks to proceed without prepaying fees must submit both the application and an authorization directing the correctional facility to deduct the filing fee from the prisoner’s account in installments and provide certified account statements for the prior six months.
Order
The court ordered Grant, within 30 days of the order, to do one of two things: pay $405 in fees, consisting of a $350 filing fee and a $55 administrative fee, or complete and submit the attached prisoner authorization. The order explains that the $55 administrative fee does not apply if the court grants permission to proceed without prepaying fees, but the $350 filing fee must still be collected in installments.
No summons will issue at this time. If Grant 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 court also stated that any appeal from this order would not be taken in good faith and denied permission to appeal without prepaying fees.
Effect of the Order
This order addresses filing fees and the required prisoner authorization. It does not decide the merits of Grant’s claims against the defendants.
Read the full 2-page opinion on CourtListener, the free public archive maintained by the Free Law Project.