Hannah v. Rikers Island DOC
- Laura Swain
- 1:25-cv-07075
- U.S. District Court · Southern District of New York
- 1
In Jordan Hannah v. Rikers Island DOC, Chief Judge Swain dismissed the complaint without prejudice after Hannah neither filed required forms nor paid filing fees.
Jordan Hannah's complaint was dismissed without prejudice because Hannah did not submit the required fee-waiver and prisoner-authorization documents or pay the $405 filing fee. Permission to appeal without paying fees was also denied. The defendants were not adjudicated on the merits.
What happened
Jordan Hannah sued Rikers Island DOC and Bob Barker Company Inc. The court had ordered Hannah to submit an application to proceed without paying filing fees and a prisoner authorization, or to pay the required $405 filing fee.
Hannah did not submit the required documents or pay the fees within the time allowed. The opinion does not describe the claims in the complaint.
Chief United States District Judge Laura Taylor Swain dismissed the complaint without prejudice and directed the Clerk of Court to enter judgment. She also denied permission to appeal without paying fees, finding that any appeal would not be taken in good faith.
The detailed version
- Hannah v. Rikers Island DOC · No. 1:25-cv-07075
- Laura Swain
- Nov. 13, 2025
Background
Jordan Hannah filed a civil complaint against Rikers Island DOC and Bob Barker Company Inc. The opinion does not describe the claims or the underlying events.
By an order dated September 8, 2025, the court directed Hannah, within 30 days, either to submit a completed application to proceed without paying the filing fee and a prisoner authorization or to pay the $405 filing fee required to bring a civil action in the court. The order warned that failure to comply would result in dismissal.
Ruling
Hannah did not submit the application and prisoner authorization and did not pay the filing fee. The court therefore dismissed the complaint without prejudice under 28 U.S.C. §§ 1914 and 1915. The court also directed the Clerk of Court to enter judgment.
The court certified under 28 U.S.C. § 1915(a)(3) that any appeal would not be taken in good faith and denied permission to appeal without paying fees. This ruling addressed the filing requirements and did not decide the underlying claims.
Read the full 1-page opinion on CourtListener, the free public archive maintained by the Free Law Project.