Thomas v. City of New York

Background

James Thomas, who was incarcerated at Five Points Correctional Facility and proceeded without a lawyer, filed this civil action without paying the required filing fees and without submitting a completed application to proceed without prepaying fees or a prisoner authorization. The opinion states that the case had been transferred from the United States District Court for the Eastern District of New York.

Court’s Order

The court explained that a prisoner bringing a civil action must either pay $400 in fees—a $350 filing fee and a $50 administrative fee—or submit a signed application to proceed without prepayment and a prisoner authorization. If permission to proceed without prepayment is granted, the $350 filing fee is collected in installments from the prisoner’s account. The authorization also directs the correctional facility to make those deductions and provide certified copies of the prisoner’s account statements for the previous six months.

The court ordered Thomas, within 30 days of December 3, 2019, to either pay the $400 in fees or submit the required application and authorization using docket number 19-CV-11028 (CM). The Clerk was directed to assign the matter to Judge McMahon’s docket, mail Thomas a copy of the order, and record service on the docket. No summons was to issue at that time. The court stated that the case would be processed under the Clerk’s procedures if Thomas complied and would be dismissed if he did not comply within the allowed time.

Appeal and Other Warnings

Judge Colleen McMahon certified under 28 U.S.C. § 1915(a)(3) that any appeal from the order would not be taken in good faith and denied permission to appeal without prepaying fees. The court also warned that a dismissal for frivolousness or failure to state a claim can count as a “strike” under 28 U.S.C. § 1915(g), potentially affecting a prisoner’s ability to proceed without prepaying fees in future cases. The order did not rule on the substance of Thomas’s claims.