Crane v. Commissioner Anthony Annucci
- Laura Swain
- 1:23-cv-06912
- U.S. District Court · Southern District of New York
- 1
In Crane v. Annucci, Judge Swain ordered a $350 check returned and denied fee-free appeal status.
Michael A. Crane, whose $350 check was ordered returned and whose permission to appeal without paying court fees was denied; the Finance Department, which was directed to return the check.
What happened
In Crane v. Annucci, the court said it had already dismissed Michael A. Crane’s action for failure to state a claim and that the case was closed.
The Finance Department received a $350 check from Crane on October 9, 2025. Because the case was closed, the court ordered the department to return the check to him.
Judge Laura Taylor Swain also ruled that any appeal from this order would not be taken in good faith and denied Crane permission to appeal without paying court fees.
The detailed version
- Crane v. Commissioner Anthony Annucci · No. 1:23-cv-06912
- Laura Swain
- Oct. 9, 2025
Background
The court stated that it had dismissed Michael A. Crane’s action for failure to state a claim in an order dated January 16, 2024. The court further stated that the action was closed. A footnote said that Crane had initiated the action with 29 other individuals, who were incarcerated at Sing Sing Correctional Facility when they filed the complaint.
Check
On October 9, 2025, the Finance Department received a $350 check from Crane. Because the action was closed, the court directed the Finance Department to return the check to him.
Appeal-related ruling
The court certified under 28 U.S.C. § 1915(a)(3) that any appeal from this order would not be taken in good faith. It therefore denied Crane permission to proceed with an appeal without paying the required court fees. This order did not revisit the earlier dismissal or decide the merits of the underlying claims.
Disposition
The court ordered the $350 check returned and denied fee-free status for an appeal.
Read the full 1-page opinion on CourtListener, the free public archive maintained by the Free Law Project.