Warner v. State of New York
- Laura Swain
- 1:25-cv-05085
- U.S. District Court · Southern District of New York
- 5
In Warner v. State of New York, Judge Swain ordered Michael Warner to pay filing fees or submit forms within 30 days, warning the action will be dismissed otherwise.
Michael Warner, an incarcerated plaintiff representing himself, must either pay the required fees or submit the required financial and prisoner-authorization forms to continue the action.
What happened
Warner v. State of New York concerns Michael Warner’s civil action. Warner, who is incarcerated and representing himself, submitted his complaint without paying the required fees or submitting the forms needed to request permission to proceed without paying them upfront.
The court gave Warner 30 days to either pay $405 or submit a signed application to proceed without prepaying fees and a prisoner authorization. If he uses the application, the $350 filing fee will be collected from his account in installments if permission is granted. The court did not issue a summons and warned that the action will be dismissed if Warner does not comply.
Judge Laura Taylor Swain also ruled that any appeal from this order would not be taken in good faith and denied permission to proceed without prepaying appeal fees. This order addresses filing requirements, not the claims in the complaint.
The detailed version
- Warner v. State of New York · No. 1:25-cv-05085
- Laura Swain
- June 25, 2025
Background
Michael Warner, who the order states is incarcerated at the Orange County Jail, filed this civil action without a lawyer. The complaint was submitted without the required filing fees, a completed application to proceed without prepaying fees, or a prisoner authorization.
Filing requirements
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 request permission to proceed without prepaying fees. A prisoner requesting that permission must submit a signed application and a prisoner authorization. If the application is granted, the $350 filing fee must still be paid in installments deducted from the prisoner’s account. The authorization also directs the correctional facility to provide certified account statements for the previous six months and make the required deductions.
Ruling
The court ordered Warner, within 30 days of the order, to either pay the $405 in fees or submit the application and prisoner authorization. The documents were to identify docket number 1:25-CV-5085 (LTS). No summons was to issue at that time. The order states that the case will be dismissed if Warner does not comply within the allowed period.
Judge Laura Taylor Swain certified that any appeal from the order would not be taken in good faith and denied permission to proceed without prepaying fees for an appeal. The order also cautioned that certain future dismissals of prisoner actions may count as strikes under the federal prisoner-litigation statute.
Read the full 5-page opinion on CourtListener, the free public archive maintained by the Free Law Project.