Owens v. Doe
- Laura Swain
- 1:25-cv-07895
- U.S. District Court · Southern District of New York
- 2
In Terrell Owens v. Doe, Judge Swain ordered payment or an application to proceed without prepaying fees within 30 days.
Terrell Owens, the detained plaintiff representing himself, must either pay the required fees or submit the specified forms within 30 days to avoid dismissal of the action.
What happened
In Terrell Owens v. Doe, Terrell Owens filed a civil action without paying the required fees or submitting the required forms. The opinion says he is detained and is representing himself.
The court gave Owens 30 days to either pay $405 or submit an application to proceed without prepaying fees and a prisoner authorization. The authorization would allow installment deductions from his account for the $350 filing fee. No summons will issue yet.
If Owens does not comply on time, the action will be dismissed. Judge Laura Taylor Swain also denied permission to appeal without prepaying fees, finding that any appeal would not be taken in good faith.
The detailed version
- Owens v. Doe · No. 1:25-cv-07895
- Laura Swain
- Sept. 25, 2025
Background
Terrell Owens filed this civil action without paying the required filing fees and without submitting a completed application to proceed without prepaying fees or a prisoner authorization. The opinion states that Owens is detained at the West Facility Annex on Rikers Island and is representing himself.
Order
The court explained that a prisoner must either pay $405 in fees—a $350 filing fee and a $55 administrative fee—or submit a signed application to proceed without prepaying fees and a prisoner authorization. If the court grants that application, the $350 filing fee must be collected in installments from the prisoner's account. The authorization also directs the facility to provide certified copies of the prisoner's account statements for the previous six months.
Within 30 days of the order, Owens must either pay the $405 or submit the required application and authorization forms labeled with docket number 25-CV-7895 (LTS). No summons will issue at this time. If Owens complies, the case will be processed under the Clerk's Office procedures; if he does not comply within the time allowed, the action will be dismissed.
Additional Ruling
Judge Laura Taylor Swain 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 does not decide the merits of Owens's claims.
Read the full 2-page opinion on CourtListener, the free public archive maintained by the Free Law Project.