Burns v. Bianchi

Background

George Burns brought this action without a lawyer while held in the Westchester County Jail; the opinion says he appeared to be incarcerated at Elmira Correctional Facility when the order was issued. He did not pay the filing fee or separately submit a request to proceed without paying it, but he filed a prisoner authorization allowing installment payments if the court granted that request. The court therefore treated him as seeking that status.

Burns alleged that, on June 10 and June 17, 2025, at a courthouse, defendants—identified as court officers and/or bailiffs—physically prevented him from speaking in court. He said he gave his complaint to facility officials for mailing on July 7, 2025.

Reason for the ruling

The Prison Litigation Reform Act’s “three-strikes” rule generally prevents a prisoner from bringing a new federal civil action without paying the filing fee if the prisoner previously had three or more actions or appeals dismissed as frivolous, malicious, or for failure to state a claim. An exception applies when the prisoner was under imminent danger of serious physical injury when the complaint was filed.

The court stated that Burns had already been recognized as barred by this rule in an earlier related proceeding. It also concluded that his complaint did not show imminent danger of serious physical injury at the time he filed it. The court therefore did not decide whether his allegations against the defendants had legal merit.

Ruling

Judge Laura Taylor Swain denied Burns’s request to proceed without paying the filing fee and dismissed the action without prejudice under the three-strikes rule. The court stated that Burns remains barred from filing future federal civil actions without paying the filing fee while he is a prisoner unless he alleges imminent danger of serious physical injury when he files. The court also denied permission to appeal without paying the appellate fee, certified that an appeal would not be taken in good faith, and directed the Clerk of Court to enter judgment dismissing the action.