Delisle v. Rikers Island DOC
- Laura Swain
- 1:25-cv-07069
- U.S. District Court · Southern District of New York
- 2
In Shawn Delisle v. Rikers Island DOC, Chief Judge Swain ordered payment or an application to proceed without prepaying fees within 30 days.
Shawn Delisle must either pay the required fees or submit the required forms within 30 days for the case to proceed; the defendants are not yet required to respond because no summons has issued.
What happened
In Shawn Delisle v. Rikers Island DOC; Bob Barker Company Inc., Shawn Delisle filed a civil action without paying the required fees or submitting completed forms to proceed without prepaying them. The opinion says he is detained at the Otis Bantum Correctional Center on Rikers Island and is representing himself.
The court gave Delisle 30 days from the order to either pay $405 in fees or submit a completed application to proceed without prepaying fees and a prisoner authorization. No summons will issue yet. If he does not comply, the action will be dismissed.
Chief Judge Laura Taylor Swain also denied permission to appeal without paying fees, finding that an appeal would not be taken in good faith. This order did not decide the claims against either defendant.
The detailed version
- Delisle v. Rikers Island DOC · No. 1:25-cv-07069
- Laura Swain
- Sept. 8, 2025
Background
Shawn Delisle filed a civil action against Rikers Island DOC and Bob Barker Company Inc. without paying the filing fees. The opinion states that Delisle is detained at the Otis Bantum Correctional Center on Rikers Island and is proceeding without a lawyer.
Fee and filing requirements
The court explained that a prisoner filing a civil action must either pay $405—consisting of a $350 filing fee and a $55 administrative fee—or request permission to proceed in forma pauperis (IFP), meaning without prepaying the fees. To request IFP status, Delisle must submit a signed IFP application and a prisoner authorization. The authorization permits installment payments of the $350 filing fee from his prisoner account and requires certified copies of account statements for the preceding six months.
The court ordered Delisle, within 30 days of the order, to either pay the $405 or submit the completed IFP application and prisoner authorization. The forms must identify docket number 25-CV-7069 (LTS).
Ruling and effect
No summons will issue at this time. If Delisle 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. The order does not decide the merits of Delisle’s claims against the defendants.
Chief 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 IFP status for purposes of an appeal. The court also cautioned that a later dismissal for frivolousness, maliciousness, or failure to state a claim could count as a statutory “strike” 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.