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S.D.N.Y.Procedural orderFiled Aug. 29, 2025

Donnay v. Phillips

Full caption

Dominique Francis Donnay, Sr. v. C.O. Phillips; C.O. Zach; C.O. Foley; Seargent A. Rodgers; Seargent Walters

Judge
Laura Swain
Docket
1:25-cv-05262
Court
U.S. District Court · Southern District of New York
Pages
1
Civil Procedure
In one sentence

In Donnay v. Phillips, Judge Swain dismissed the complaint without prejudice after Donnay neither submitted prisoner authorization nor paid the required filing fee.

Who this affects

Dominique Francis Donnay, Sr.'s complaint was dismissed without prejudice; the named defendants were not required to litigate the underlying claims in this order.

What happened

In Dominique Francis Donnay, Sr. v. C.O. Phillips and the other named defendants, the court required Donnay to complete a prisoner authorization or pay the filing fees before the case could proceed.

The court had given Donnay 30 days to comply. He did not submit the authorization or pay the required $405 in fees.

Chief Judge Laura Taylor Swain dismissed the complaint without prejudice, denied permission to appeal without prepaying fees, and directed the clerk to enter judgment.

The detailed version

For law students, journalists, and other readers who want the full reasoning

Case
Donnay v. Phillips · No. 1:25-cv-05262
Judge
Laura Swain
Date
Aug. 29, 2025

Background

On June 27, 2025, the court ordered Dominique Francis Donnay, Sr. to submit a completed prisoner authorization within 30 days or pay the $405 in fees required to file a civil action. The order stated that failing to comply would result in dismissal of the complaint.

Court’s action

Donnay did not file the prisoner authorization and did not pay the required fees. The court therefore dismissed the complaint without prejudice under 28 U.S.C. §§ 1914 and 1915. The opinion does not address the allegations or the underlying legal claims.

Disposition

Chief United States District Judge Laura Taylor Swain certified that an appeal would not be taken in good faith and denied permission to appeal without prepaying the fees. The court also directed the clerk to enter judgment. The dismissal was without prejudice.

The authoritative version

Read the full 1-page opinion on CourtListener, the free public archive maintained by the Free Law Project.

Open opinion PDF →
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