Soto v. Doe
- Laura Swain
- 1:25-cv-07896
- U.S. District Court · Southern District of New York
- 5
In Manuel Soto v. Doe, Judge Swain ordered Soto to pay fees or submit prisoner IFP documents within 30 days.
Manuel Soto, the incarcerated plaintiff representing himself, must either pay the filing fees or submit the required IFP application and prisoner authorization.
What happened
Manuel Soto v. Doe is a civil case filed by Soto, who is incarcerated and representing himself. He submitted his complaint without paying the required fees or providing a completed application to proceed without prepaying them.
The court gave Soto 30 days from September 25, 2025, to either pay $405 or submit a signed application and prisoner authorization. The authorization would allow installment deductions of the $350 filing fee from his prison account; the $55 administrative fee does not apply if the court grants permission to proceed without prepaying fees. No answer is required yet.
Judge Laura Taylor Swain stated that the case will be processed if Soto complies, but the action will be dismissed if he does not. She also certified that an appeal would not be taken in good faith and denied permission to proceed without prepaying fees for an appeal.
The detailed version
- Soto v. Doe · No. 1:25-cv-07896
- Laura Swain
- Sept. 25, 2025
What the order concerns
Manuel Soto filed a civil action without paying the required fees and without submitting a completed application to proceed without prepaying fees, commonly called an IFP application, and a prisoner authorization. The opinion states that Soto is incarcerated at West Facility Annex and is representing himself.
Fee requirements
The court explained that filing a civil action requires either payment of $405—consisting of a $350 filing fee and a $55 administrative fee—or submission of an IFP application and prisoner authorization. If the court grants a prisoner’s IFP application, the $350 filing fee must still be collected in installments from the prisoner’s account. The prisoner authorization directs the facility to deduct those payments and provide certified copies of the prisoner’s account statements for the preceding six months. The $55 administrative fee does not apply to a person granted IFP status.
Order and consequences
Within 30 days of the September 25, 2025 order, Soto must either pay the $405 in fees or submit the attached IFP application and prisoner authorization, labeled with docket number 25-CV-7896 (LTS). No answer is required at this stage. If Soto complies, the case will be processed under the Clerk’s Office procedures. If he does not comply within the permitted time, the action will be dismissed.
The court also warned that a prisoner action dismissed as frivolous, malicious, or for failing to state a claim can count as a “strike” under 28 U.S.C. § 1915(g). Finally, 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.
Read the full 5-page opinion on CourtListener, the free public archive maintained by the Free Law Project.