Galarza v. Rikers Island DOC
- Laura Swain
- 1:25-cv-07074
- U.S. District Court · Southern District of New York
- 1
In Galarza v. Rikers Island DOC, Judge Swain dismissed the complaint without prejudice because Galarza neither paid filing fees nor submitted required forms.
Shantee Galarza’s complaint was dismissed without prejudice because the required filing-fee forms or payment were not submitted. Fee-free status was also denied for any appeal.
What happened
In Shantee Galarza v. Rikers Island DOC; Bob Barker Company Inc., the court had ordered Galarza to submit an application to proceed without paying fees, a prisoner authorization, or the required filing fees within 30 days.
Galarza did not submit the required forms or pay the $405 filing fee. The court therefore dismissed the complaint without prejudice, meaning the dismissal did not bar refiling.
Judge Laura Taylor Swain directed the clerk to enter judgment and denied fee-free status for any appeal, finding that an appeal would not be taken in good faith.
The detailed version
- Galarza v. Rikers Island DOC · No. 1:25-cv-07074
- Laura Swain
- Nov. 13, 2025
Background
By order dated September 8, 2025, the court directed Shantee Galarza to submit a completed application to proceed without paying filing fees and a prisoner authorization, or to pay the $405 required to file a civil action. The order warned that failing to comply would result in dismissal.
Court’s Action
Galarza did not submit the application and prisoner authorization and did not pay the filing fees. The court dismissed the complaint without prejudice under 28 U.S.C. §§ 1914 and 1915.
The court also certified under 28 U.S.C. § 1915(a)(3) that any appeal from the order would not be taken in good faith. It therefore denied fee-free status for purposes of an appeal and directed the clerk to enter judgment.
Read the full 1-page opinion on CourtListener, the free public archive maintained by the Free Law Project.