Carlisle v. Caban
- Laura Swain
- 1:25-cv-09028
- U.S. District Court · Southern District of New York
- 3
In Antwane Carlisle v. Caban, Judge Swain ordered Carlisle to pay fees or submit prisoner authorization within 30 days.
Antwane Carlisle, an incarcerated plaintiff representing himself, must either pay the required fees or submit the required prisoner authorization for the case to proceed. The order also affects any appeal from this order by denying permission to proceed without prepaying fees.
What happened
Antwane Carlisle v. Caban concerns a civil action brought by Carlisle, who is incarcerated at Westchester County Jail and is representing himself. Carlisle submitted an application to proceed without prepaying court fees but did not submit the required prisoner authorization.
The court ordered Carlisle, within 30 days, either to pay $405 in fees or submit the attached authorization. The authorization would allow installment deductions of the $350 filing fee from his prison account and permit the facility to send the court account statements for the previous six months. No summons will issue at this time.
If Carlisle does not comply within 30 days, the action will be dismissed. If he complies, the Clerk’s Office will process the case under its procedures. Judge Laura Taylor Swain also denied permission to proceed without prepaying fees for any appeal from this order, finding that an appeal would not be taken in good faith.
The detailed version
- Carlisle v. Caban · No. 1:25-cv-09028
- Laura Swain
- Nov. 3, 2025
Background
Antwane Carlisle filed this civil action while incarcerated at Westchester County Jail and is proceeding without a lawyer. He submitted an application to proceed without prepaying court fees, but he did not submit the required prisoner authorization.
Under the statutes cited by the court, a prisoner who seeks to proceed without prepaying fees must submit a signed application and authorize deductions from the prisoner’s account. If the court grants that status, the $350 filing fee must generally be collected in installments. The court stated that the total charge for filing a civil action is $405, consisting of a $350 filing fee and a $55 administrative fee, although the administrative fee does not apply to a person granted permission to proceed without prepaying fees.
Order
The court directed Carlisle, within 30 days of November 3, 2025, to do one of two things:
1. Pay the $405 in fees; or 2. Complete and submit the attached prisoner authorization, labeled with docket number 25-CV-9028 (LTS).
The authorization directs the agency holding Carlisle to provide certified copies of his prison account statements for the previous six months and to calculate, deduct, and send installment payments for the $350 filing fee to the court. It also applies if Carlisle is transferred to another custodial agency or if the case is transferred to another federal district court.
No summons will issue at this time. If Carlisle complies, the Clerk’s Office will process the case under its procedures. If he does not comply within the allowed period, the action will be dismissed.
Other Ruling
The court certified under 28 U.S.C. § 1915(a)(3) that an appeal from this order would not be taken in good faith and denied permission to proceed without prepaying fees for purposes of an appeal. The order did not decide the underlying claims against the defendants.
Read the full 3-page opinion on CourtListener, the free public archive maintained by the Free Law Project.