Donnay v. Del Grasso

Background

Dominique Francis Donnay, Sr., who is detained at Westchester County Jail, filed this civil action without a lawyer. He submitted an application to proceed without prepaying court fees, but he did not submit the separate prisoner authorization required for a prisoner seeking that status.

The court explained that filing a civil action ordinarily requires $405 in fees: a $350 filing fee and a $55 administrative fee. If a prisoner is allowed to proceed without prepaying fees, the Prison Litigation Reform Act requires the $350 filing fee to be collected in installments from the prisoner’s account. The prisoner authorization directs the detention facility to make those deductions and to provide the court with certified account statements for the previous six months. The $55 administrative fee does not apply to a person granted permission to proceed without prepaying fees.

Order

The court ordered Donnay, within 30 days of the order, to either pay the $405 in fees or complete and submit the attached prisoner authorization, labeled with docket number 25-CV-5260 (LTS). No summons would issue at that time. If Donnay complied, the Clerk’s Office would process the case under its procedures; if he did not comply within the allowed time, the action would be dismissed.

Other ruling

Chief United States District Judge Laura Taylor Swain certified that an appeal from the order would not be taken in good faith and denied permission to appeal without prepaying fees. The order did not address the merits of Donnay’s underlying claims. It also warned about the possible consequences of future dismissals that qualify as “strikes” under the federal prisoner-litigation statute, including limits on proceeding without prepaying fees after three such strikes unless the prisoner faces imminent danger of serious physical injury.