Wolfhope v. Rikers Island DOC
- Laura Swain
- 1:25-cv-07065
- U.S. District Court · Southern District of New York
- 1
In Wolfhope v. Rikers Island DOC, Judge Swain dismissed the complaint without prejudice after Wolfhope neither paid fees nor submitted required forms.
Tymier Wolfhope’s complaint was dismissed without prejudice because he did not submit the required fee-waiver and prisoner-authorization forms or pay the filing fee. The order also denied fee-waiver status for an appeal.
What happened
Tymier Wolfhope sued Rikers Island DOC and Bob Barker Company Inc. in federal court. The court had ordered Wolfhope to either submit forms requesting permission to proceed without paying filing fees or pay the required fees.
The order gave Wolfhope thirty days to comply and warned that the complaint would be dismissed if he did not. Wolfhope did not submit the required forms or pay the $405 filing fee.
Judge Laura Taylor Swain dismissed the complaint without prejudice. The court also denied permission to proceed without paying fees for any appeal and directed the Clerk of Court to enter judgment.
The detailed version
- Wolfhope v. Rikers Island DOC · No. 1:25-cv-07065
- Laura Swain
- Nov. 10, 2025
Background
By an order dated September 5, 2025, the court directed Tymier Wolfhope to submit a completed application to proceed without paying the filing fee and a required prisoner authorization form, or to pay the $405 filing fee for a civil action. The order warned that failing to comply would result in dismissal of the complaint.
Court’s ruling
Wolfhope did not submit the application and prisoner authorization or pay the required fees. The court therefore dismissed the complaint without prejudice under 28 U.S.C. §§ 1914 and 1915.
The court also certified that any appeal would not be taken in good faith and denied permission to proceed without paying fees for purposes of an appeal. It directed the Clerk of Court to enter judgment. Judge Laura Taylor Swain signed the order.
Read the full 1-page opinion on CourtListener, the free public archive maintained by the Free Law Project.