Cook v. Quattrocchi

Background

Kevin Cook, who is incarcerated at the Orange County Jail, brought this action without a lawyer. He submitted an application to proceed without prepaying court fees, but he did not submit the required prisoner authorization.

Court’s requirements

The court explained that a prisoner must either pay $400 in fees—a $350 filing fee and a $50 administrative fee—or submit a signed application and prisoner authorization to request permission to proceed without prepaying fees. If permission is granted, the Prison Litigation Reform Act requires collection of the $350 filing fee through installment deductions from the prisoner’s account. The authorization also directs the correctional facility to send the court certified copies of the prisoner’s account statements for the previous six months. The $50 administrative fee does not apply to a person granted permission to proceed without prepaying fees.

Order

The court ordered Cook to do one of the following within 30 days of the order’s date: pay the $400 in fees or complete and submit the attached prisoner authorization, labeled with docket number 19-CV-11659 (CM). The court stated that if Cook 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 would issue at that time.

The court directed the Clerk to assign the matter to Judge Colleen McMahon’s docket, mail Cook a copy of the order, and record service on the docket. The court also certified that an appeal would not be taken in good faith and denied permission to appeal without prepaying fees. Finally, the order warned that a later dismissal for frivolousness or failure to state a claim could count as a strike under 28 U.S.C. § 1915(g), and that three strikes generally prevent a prisoner from proceeding without prepaying fees unless the prisoner faces imminent danger of serious physical injury.