Morgan v. Doe

Background

Troy Morgan filed a civil action without paying the filing fees or submitting a completed application to proceed without prepaying fees, commonly called an IFP application, and a prisoner authorization. The opinion states that Morgan is detained at the West Facility Annex on Rikers Island and is proceeding without a lawyer.

Payment or IFP requirements

The court explained that a prisoner filing a civil action must either pay $405 in fees—a $350 filing fee and a $55 administrative fee—or submit a signed IFP application and prisoner authorization. If the court grants IFP status, the $350 filing fee must be collected in installments from the prisoner’s account. The prisoner authorization permits those deductions and requires certified copies of account statements for the prior six months.

Order and disposition

The court ordered Morgan, within 30 days of September 30, 2025, to either pay the $405 in fees or submit the attached IFP application and prisoner authorization, labeled with docket number 25-CV-7962 (LTS). No summons will issue at this time. The order states that, if Morgan complies, the case will be processed under the Clerk’s Office procedures; if Morgan does not comply within the allowed time, the action will be dismissed.

Judge Laura Taylor Swain also 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 order does not address the merits of Morgan’s claims. It also cautions that certain future dismissals could count as “strikes” under 28 U.S.C. § 1915(g), subject to the conditions described in the order.