Beard v. Doe
- Laura Swain
- 1:25-cv-05873
- U.S. District Court · Southern District of New York
- 5
In Beard v. Doe, Judge Swain ordered Jeffrey Beard to pay filing fees or submit prisoner IFP paperwork within 30 days, or the action will be dismissed.
Jeffrey Beard and the status of his civil action. Beard must either pay the required fees or submit the required prisoner paperwork within 30 days to avoid dismissal of the action.
What happened
In Beard v. Doe, Jeffrey Beard, who is incarcerated and representing himself, filed a civil complaint without paying the required fees or submitting a completed application to proceed without prepaying them.
The court gave Beard 30 days to pay $405 in fees or submit the required application and authorization for payments to be deducted from his prison account. No summons will issue yet, and failure to comply will result in dismissal of the action.
Judge Laura Taylor Swain also ruled that any appeal from this order would not be taken in good faith and denied permission to appeal without prepaying fees. The order did not address the claims in the complaint.
The detailed version
- Beard v. Doe · No. 1:25-cv-05873
- Laura Swain
- July 25, 2025
Background
Jeffrey Beard filed this civil action without a lawyer. The opinion states that he is incarcerated at the Riker’s Island – West Facility Annex. He submitted his complaint without the required filing fees, a completed application to proceed without prepaying fees, or a prisoner authorization.
Court’s Order
The court explained that a prisoner filing a civil action must either pay $405 in fees—a $350 filing fee and a $55 administrative fee—or submit the documents needed to request permission to proceed without prepaying fees. If permission is granted, the $350 filing fee must still be collected in installments from the prisoner’s account. The prisoner authorization permits the facility to deduct those payments and requires certified account statements for the preceding six months to be sent to the court.
The court ordered Beard, within 30 days of the order, to either pay the $405 or submit the attached application and prisoner authorization, labeled with docket number 1:25-CV-5873. The court directed that no summons issue at that time. If Beard 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 Effect
Judge Laura Taylor Swain certified that an appeal from this order would not be taken in good faith and denied permission to appeal without prepaying fees. The order concerns filing requirements and does not decide the claims in the complaint.
Read the full 5-page opinion on CourtListener, the free public archive maintained by the Free Law Project.