Donnay v. Phillips

Background

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

Court’s order

The court explained that a prisoner starting a civil action must either pay the required fees or request permission to proceed without prepaying them. A prisoner who receives permission to proceed without prepayment must authorize deductions from the prisoner’s account to pay the filing fee in installments and must provide certified account statements for the previous six months.

Within 30 days of the order, Donnay must either pay the fees or complete and submit the attached prisoner authorization, labeled with docket number 25-CV-5262. The court directed that no summons issue at that time. If Donnay complies, the Clerk’s Office will process the case under its procedures; if he does not comply within the allowed time, the action will be dismissed.

Appeal and additional warning

Judge Laura Taylor Swain certified that any appeal from the order would not be taken in good faith and denied permission to appeal without prepaying fees. The court also warned that a future dismissal for frivolousness, maliciousness, or failure to state a claim could count as a strike under the prisoner filing-fee law, and that three strikes generally limit a prisoner’s ability to file future federal civil actions without prepaying fees, subject to the statutory exception for imminent danger of serious physical injury.