Ahaiwe v. United States
- Laura Swain
- 1:25-cv-05171
- U.S. District Court · Southern District of New York
- 3
In Ahaiwe v. United States, Judge Swain ordered Victor Ahaiwe to pay fees or submit prisoner authorization within 30 days.
Victor Ahaiwe and the continuation of his civil action; the order requires him to pay the fees or submit the required prisoner authorization.
What happened
Ahaiwe v. United States involves Victor Ahaiwe, who is incarcerated and filed this civil action without a lawyer. He submitted an application to proceed without paying fees upfront but did not submit the required prisoner authorization.
The court ordered Ahaiwe, within 30 days, either to pay $405 in fees or submit the completed authorization. The authorization would allow installment payments of the $350 filing fee from his prison account and provide account statements. No summons will issue at this time, and the court warned that failure to comply will result in dismissal of the action.
Chief United States District Judge Laura Taylor Swain also denied permission to proceed without prepaying fees for an appeal, certifying that an appeal would not be taken in good faith.
The detailed version
- Ahaiwe v. United States · No. 1:25-cv-05171
- Laura Swain
- June 26, 2025
Background
Victor Ahaiwe, who is incarcerated at the Rubidoux Residential Re-Entry Center, brought this civil action without a lawyer. He submitted an application to proceed without prepaying filing fees, but he did not submit the required prisoner authorization.
Order
The court explained that a prisoner must either pay $405 in fees—a $350 filing fee and a $55 administrative fee—or request permission to proceed without prepaying fees by submitting both a signed application and a prisoner authorization. If permission is granted, 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 provide certified account statements for the previous six months.
The court ordered Ahaiwe to do one of two things within 30 days of the order: pay the $405 in fees or complete and submit the attached prisoner authorization, labeled with docket number 1:25-CV-5171 (LTS). No summons will issue at this time. If Ahaiwe 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.
Additional Ruling
Chief United States District Judge Laura Taylor Swain certified under 28 U.S.C. § 1915(a)(3) that any appeal from the order would not be taken in good faith. The court therefore denied permission to proceed without prepaying fees for an appeal. The order also cautioned that certain future dismissals could count as strikes under the prisoner litigation statute.
Read the full 3-page opinion on CourtListener, the free public archive maintained by the Free Law Project.