Wolfhope v. Rikers Island DOC
- Laura Swain
- 1:25-cv-07065
- U.S. District Court · Southern District of New York
- 2
In Tymier Wolfhope v. Rikers Island DOC, Judge Swain ordered payment or a completed fee-waiver application within 30 days before the case proceeds.
Tymier Wolfhope, the detained plaintiff representing himself, must either pay the required fees or submit the required application and prisoner authorization within 30 days for the action to proceed.
What happened
In Tymier Wolfhope v. Rikers Island DOC; Bob Barker Authorization Company Inc., Tymier Wolfhope filed a civil action without paying the required fees or submitting completed forms to proceed without paying fees upfront. The order states that he is detained at the Otis Bantum Correctional Center and is representing himself.
The court gave Wolfhope 30 days from September 5, 2025, to either pay $405 in fees or submit a signed application to proceed without paying fees upfront and a prisoner authorization. That authorization would allow filing-fee payments to be deducted from his account in installments. No summons will issue yet.
Judge Laura Taylor Swain ordered that the case be processed if Wolfhope complies and stated that the action will be dismissed if he does not. She also ruled that any appeal would not be taken in good faith and denied fee-free status for an appeal.
The detailed version
- Wolfhope v. Rikers Island DOC · No. 1:25-cv-07065
- Laura Swain
- Sept. 5, 2025
Background
Tymier Wolfhope filed this civil action without a filing fee, a completed application to proceed without paying fees upfront, or a prisoner authorization. The order states that Wolfhope is detained at the Otis Bantum Correctional Center on Rikers Island and is proceeding without a lawyer.
Fees and required forms
The court explained that a prisoner must either pay $405—the $350 filing fee and $55 administrative fee—or request permission to proceed without prepaying fees. A prisoner requesting that permission 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 correctional facility to send the court certified copies of the prisoner's account statements for the past six months.
Order
Judge Laura Taylor Swain ordered Wolfhope, within 30 days of the order, to either pay the $405 in fees or submit the required application and prisoner authorization. The documents must identify docket number 25-CV-7065 (LTS). No summons will issue at this time. If Wolfhope complies, the case will be processed under the Clerk's Office procedures; if he does not comply within the allowed time, the action will be dismissed.
The court 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. The order also cautioned that certain future dismissals of prisoner civil actions can count as filing "strikes" under 28 U.S.C. § 1915(g).
Read the full 2-page opinion on CourtListener, the free public archive maintained by the Free Law Project.