Griffin v. Facebook
- Louis Stanton
- 1:25-cv-05585
- U.S. District Court · Southern District of New York
- 2
In Griffin v. Facebook, Judge Swain ordered the unrepresented prisoner to pay filing fees or submit authorization to withdraw them.
Casimir P. Griffin, a prisoner representing himself, must either pay the required fees or submit the missing prisoner authorization within 30 days for the case to proceed.
What happened
In Griffin v. Facebook, Casimir P. Griffin, who is being held at the Orange County Jail and is representing himself, submitted an application to proceed without paying fees upfront but did not submit the required prisoner authorization.
The court ordered Griffin, within 30 days, either to pay $405 in fees or submit the completed authorization allowing installment withdrawals of the $350 filing fee from his account. The court directed that no summons issue at that time and warned that the action would be dismissed if he did not comply.
Judge Laura Taylor Swain also stated that an appeal would not be taken in good faith and denied permission to proceed without paying fees for an appeal. The order did not decide the underlying claims against Facebook or the other defendants.
The detailed version
- Griffin v. Facebook · No. 1:25-cv-05585
- Louis Stanton
- July 10, 2025
Background
Casimir P. Griffin, who is currently held at the Orange County Jail, brought this action without a lawyer. He submitted an application to proceed in forma pauperis (without prepaying the 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 prepayment by submitting a signed application and prisoner authorization. If permission is granted, the Prison Litigation Reform Act requires installment payments of the $350 filing fee from the prisoner's account. The authorization also directs the correctional facility to make those deductions and provide certified account statements for the previous six months.
The court gave Griffin 30 days from the date of the order to pay the $405 or submit the completed prisoner authorization, labeled with docket number 25-CV-5585 (LTS). No summons would issue at that time. The court stated that, if Griffin complied, the case would be processed under the Clerk's Office procedures; if he did not comply within the allowed time, the action would be dismissed. The order also cautioned that certain dismissals of prisoner actions can count as strikes under 28 U.S.C. § 1915(g).
Appeal and disposition
Judge Laura Taylor Swain certified that an appeal from the order would not be taken in good faith and denied permission to proceed without prepaying fees for an appeal. This order addressed filing requirements and did not decide the merits of Griffin's claims.
Read the full 2-page opinion on CourtListener, the free public archive maintained by the Free Law Project.