Martinez v. Cunningham
- Louis Stanton
- 1:19-cv-10517
- U.S. District Court · Southern District of New York
- 2
In Martinez v. Cunningham, Judge McMahon ordered Andres Martinez to pay fees or submit a corrected prisoner authorization within 30 days to keep his case moving.
Andres Martinez must either pay the required fees or submit a corrected prisoner authorization within 30 days to avoid dismissal of the action.
What happened
Martinez v. Cunningham is a case brought by Andres Martinez, who is incarcerated and representing himself. The court had not yet issued a summons or addressed the claims in the lawsuit.
Martinez submitted an application to proceed without paying fees upfront and a prisoner authorization, but the authorization did not permit collection of the filing fee from his prison account. The court gave him 30 days to pay $400 or submit a completed authorization; if he does not comply, the action will be dismissed.
Chief Judge Colleen McMahon issued the order on November 19, 2019. She also ruled that Martinez could not proceed without paying fees for an appeal because an appeal would not be taken in good faith.
The detailed version
- Martinez v. Cunningham · No. 1:19-cv-10517
- Louis Stanton
- Nov. 19, 2019
Background
Andres Martinez, who was incarcerated and proceeding without a lawyer, filed this civil action against Robert F. Cunningham and other defendants. Martinez submitted an application to proceed without prepaying filing fees and a prisoner authorization. The authorization, however, did not authorize the court to collect the filing fee from his prison account.
Fee requirements
The order explains that filing a civil action generally requires $400 in fees: a $350 filing fee and a $50 administrative fee. A prisoner who is allowed to proceed without prepaying fees must still pay the $350 filing fee through installments deducted from the prison account. The prisoner must also authorize those deductions and provide certified account statements for the previous six months. The $50 administrative fee does not apply to a person granted permission to proceed without prepaying fees.
Ruling and next steps
Chief Judge Colleen McMahon ordered Martinez, within 30 days of the order, either to pay the $400 in fees or to complete and submit the attached prisoner authorization, labeled with docket number 19-CV-10517 (CM). If Martinez complies, the case will be processed under the Clerk's Office procedures. If he does not comply within the allowed time, the action will be dismissed. No summons was to issue at that time.
The court also certified under 28 U.S.C. § 1915(a)(3) that an appeal from the order would not be taken in good faith and denied permission to proceed without prepaying fees for an appeal. The order cautioned that a later dismissal for frivolousness or failure to state a claim could count as a strike under 28 U.S.C. § 1915(g), subject to the statutory exception for imminent danger of serious physical injury.
Classification
This is a procedural order. It addressed the filing-fee and prisoner-authorization requirements and did not decide the merits of Martinez's claims.
Read the full 2-page opinion on CourtListener, the free public archive maintained by the Free Law Project.