Senat v. Rikers Island DOC
- Laura Swain
- 1:25-cv-07071
- U.S. District Court · Southern District of New York
- 2
In Marly Senat v. Rikers Island DOC, Judge Swain ordered Senat to pay filing fees or submit forms to proceed, and denied permission to proceed without fees on appeal.
Marly Senat, who must either pay the required fees or submit the specified forms within 30 days to continue the action.
What happened
In Marly Senat v. Rikers Island DOC, Marly Senat filed a civil lawsuit without paying the required fees or submitting a completed application to proceed without paying the fees upfront. The opinion says Senat was detained at the Otis Bantum Correctional Center and was representing themself.
The court gave Senat 30 days to either pay $405 in fees or submit the required application and authorization forms. The court said no summons would issue yet and warned that failing to comply would result in dismissal of the action.
Judge Laura Taylor Swain also denied permission to proceed without paying fees for any appeal, finding that an appeal would not be taken in good faith. The order did not decide the underlying claims.
The detailed version
- Senat v. Rikers Island DOC · No. 1:25-cv-07071
- Laura Swain
- Sept. 8, 2025
Background
Marly Senat filed this civil action without paying the filing fees and without submitting a completed application to proceed without prepaying those fees or a prisoner authorization. The opinion states that Senat was detained at the Otis Bantum Correctional Center on Rikers Island and was proceeding without a lawyer.
Order
The court explained that a prisoner must either pay $405—the $350 filing fee and $55 administrative fee—or submit an application to proceed without prepaying fees and a prisoner authorization. If the court grants that application, the $350 filing fee is collected in installments from the prisoner's account. The $55 administrative fee does not apply to a person granted that status.
The court ordered Senat, within 30 days of the order, to either pay the $405 or submit the attached application and prisoner authorization forms, labeled with docket number 25-CV-7071 (LTS). No summons would issue at that time. The court stated that, if Senat complied, the case would be processed under the Clerk's Office procedures; if Senat did not comply within the allowed time, the action would be dismissed.
Appeal and Disposition
Judge Laura Taylor Swain certified under 28 U.S.C. § 1915(a)(3) that any appeal from the order would not be taken in good faith and denied permission to proceed without prepaying fees for an appeal. The order directed payment of the fee or submission of the required forms; it did not decide the merits of Senat's claims.
Read the full 2-page opinion on CourtListener, the free public archive maintained by the Free Law Project.