Barnett v. State of New York
- Laura Swain
- 1:25-cv-04248
- U.S. District Court · Southern District of New York
- 1
In Barnett v. State of New York, Judge Swain dismissed the complaint without prejudice after Barnett neither submitted authorization nor paid the filing fee.
Lafvorne L. Barnett's complaint was dismissed without prejudice because Barnett did not submit the required authorization or pay the filing fee. Any appeal was denied fee-free status.
What happened
Lafvorne L. Barnett v. State of New York, et al. was dismissed after Barnett did not complete a required filing step.
The court had given Barnett 30 days to submit a completed prisoner authorization or pay the $405 filing fee. Barnett did neither.
Judge Laura Taylor Swain dismissed the complaint without prejudice, denied fee-free status for any appeal, and directed the clerk to enter judgment.
The detailed version
- Barnett v. State of New York · No. 1:25-cv-04248
- Laura Swain
- Nov. 19, 2025
Background
The court had ordered Barnett on May 29, 2025, to submit a completed prisoner authorization within 30 days or pay the $405 fee required to file a civil action. The order warned that failing to comply would result in dismissal.
Ruling
The court stated that Barnett had not submitted the authorization or paid the fee. It therefore dismissed the complaint without prejudice under 28 U.S.C. §§ 1914 and 1915. “Without prejudice” means the order did not state that refiling the complaint was barred.
The court also certified under 28 U.S.C. § 1915(a)(3) that an appeal would not be taken in good faith and denied fee-free status for an appeal. It directed the clerk to enter judgment. The opinion does not address the underlying allegations or claims.
Read the full 1-page opinion on CourtListener, the free public archive maintained by the Free Law Project.