Burns v. Thandi
- Laura Swain
- 1:25-cv-05356
- U.S. District Court · Southern District of New York
- 3
Burns v. Thandi: Judge Swain denied IFP and dismissed without prejudice under the prisoner three-strikes rule.
George Burns’s request to proceed without prepaying fees was denied, and his action was dismissed without prejudice. He remains barred from filing future federal civil actions without prepaying fees while he is a prisoner unless he shows imminent danger of serious physical injury at filing. The court did not decide the merits of his claims against Police Officer Thandi.
What happened
Burns v. Thandi was brought by George Burns, who was held in the Westchester County Jail and represented himself. He sued a police officer with the Yonkers Police Department over his May 14, 2023 arrest and later criminal prosecution, and asked to proceed without paying filing fees.
The court said Burns had already been barred under the Prison Litigation Reform Act’s three-strikes rule from filing new federal civil actions without paying fees while imprisoned. Because his complaint did not show that he faced an imminent danger of serious physical injury when he filed it, the court did not allow him to proceed without paying fees.
Chief Judge Laura Taylor Swain denied Burns’s request to proceed without paying fees and dismissed the action without prejudice under the three-strikes rule. The court also denied fee-free status for any appeal, while stating that Burns could start a new federal civil action by paying the required fees.
The detailed version
- Burns v. Thandi · No. 1:25-cv-05356
- Laura Swain
- June 30, 2025
Background
George Burns, who was being held in the Westchester County Jail, filed this civil-rights action without a lawyer against Police Officer Thandi of the City of Yonkers Police Department. Burns sought permission to proceed without paying the filing fee, a status commonly called proceeding without prepaying fees. His claims arose from his May 14, 2023 arrest and subsequent criminal prosecution.
Three-strikes rule
The Prison Litigation Reform Act contains a “three-strikes” provision, 28 U.S.C. § 1915(g). It generally prevents a prisoner from bringing a federal civil action without prepaying the filing fee if the prisoner previously had three or more actions or appeals dismissed as frivolous, malicious, or legally insufficient. The exception applies when the prisoner is in imminent danger of serious physical injury when the complaint is filed.
The court stated that Burns had already been recognized as barred by this provision in a prior related proceeding. The court further found that Burns’s complaint did not show that he faced imminent danger of serious physical injury when he filed this action. The opinion therefore addressed his eligibility to proceed without paying the filing fee, not whether his claims about the arrest or prosecution were legally valid.
Ruling
Chief United States District Judge Laura Taylor Swain denied Burns’s request to proceed without prepaying fees and dismissed the action without prejudice under 28 U.S.C. § 1915(g). The court stated that Burns remains barred from filing future federal civil actions without prepaying fees while he is a prisoner unless he is under imminent danger of serious physical injury when he files.
The court also certified under 28 U.S.C. § 1915(a)(3) that an appeal would not be taken in good faith and denied fee-free status for an appeal. The order stated that Burns may commence a new federal civil action by paying the applicable fees; any such complaint would be reviewed under the prisoner-screening statute, 28 U.S.C. § 1915A. The Clerk was directed to enter judgment dismissing this action.
Read the full 3-page opinion on CourtListener, the free public archive maintained by the Free Law Project.