Bior v. Guaman
- Laura Swain
- 1:25-cv-06000
- U.S. District Court · Southern District of New York
- 2
In Bior v. Guaman, Judge Swain ordered Bior to pay filing fees or submit forms to request payment without prepayment.
AQAW D. Bior, who filed the action without a lawyer and without paying the required fees or submitting the required fee-waiver forms.
What happened
In Bior v. Guaman, AQAW D. Bior filed a civil action without paying the required fees or submitting the forms needed to request payment without prepayment. The opinion says Bior is detained at the Rose M. Singer Center on Rikers Island and is representing himself.
The court gave Bior 30 days to either pay $405 in fees or submit a signed application to proceed without prepaying fees and a prisoner authorization. The authorization would allow installment payments from Bior’s account. No summons will issue at this time, and the action will be dismissed if Bior does not comply within the deadline.
Judge Laura Taylor Swain also ruled that any appeal from this order would not be taken in good faith and denied payment without prepayment for an appeal. The order does not decide the underlying claims.
The detailed version
- Bior v. Guaman · No. 1:25-cv-06000
- Laura Swain
- Aug. 4, 2025
Background
AQAW D. Bior filed this civil action without a filing-fee payment, a completed application to proceed without prepaying fees, or a prisoner authorization. The opinion states that Bior is detained at the Rose M. Singer Center on Rikers Island and is proceeding without a lawyer.
Fee and application requirements
The court explained that a prisoner filing a civil action must either pay $405 in fees—$350 for the filing fee and $55 for the administrative fee—or request permission to proceed without prepaying fees. To make that request, Bior must submit a signed application and a prisoner authorization. If permission is granted, the Prison Litigation Reform Act requires the $350 filing fee to be collected in installments from the prisoner’s account. The authorization also directs the detention facility to provide certified account statements for the previous six months.
Order
The court ordered Bior, within 30 days of August 4, 2025, to either pay the $405 in fees or submit the application and prisoner authorization. The forms should identify docket number 25-CV-6000 (LTS). No summons will issue at this time. If Bior complies, the Clerk’s Office will process the case under its procedures; if Bior does not comply within the allowed time, the action will be dismissed.
Judge Laura Taylor Swain certified under 28 U.S.C. § 1915(a)(3) that an appeal from the order would not be taken in good faith and denied permission to proceed without prepaying fees for purposes of an appeal. The order does not address the merits of Bior’s underlying claims.
Read the full 2-page opinion on CourtListener, the free public archive maintained by the Free Law Project.