Moore v. N.Y.P.D. D.O.T.

Background

Romial Moore, who was incarcerated at the Anna M. Kross Center on Rikers Island, filed this civil action without a lawyer. He submitted an application to proceed without prepaying court fees, commonly called an application to proceed without prepayment of fees, but he did not submit the required prisoner authorization.

Fees and prisoner authorization

The court explained that a prisoner generally must either pay $400 to file a civil action—$350 for the filing fee and $50 for the administrative fee—or submit the documents required to request permission to proceed without prepaying those fees. If that permission is granted, the $350 filing fee is collected in installments from the prisoner’s prison trust-fund account. The prisoner authorization directs the facility to make those deductions and to provide certified copies of the account statements for the preceding six months. The $50 administrative fee does not apply to a person granted permission to proceed without prepaying fees.

Order

The court ordered Moore, within 30 days of the order, either to pay the $400 in fees or to complete and submit the attached prisoner authorization, identifying docket number 20-CV-0073 (CM). The Clerk was directed to assign the case to Judge McMahon’s docket, mail the order to Moore, and record service. No summons was to issue at that time. If Moore complied, the court would process the case under the Clerk’s procedures; if he did not comply within the allowed time, the court would dismiss the action.

Appeal and warning

Judge Colleen McMahon 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 appeal without prepaying fees. The order also warned that a later dismissal for frivolousness, maliciousness, or failure to state a claim could count as a “strike” under 28 U.S.C. § 1915(g). This order addressed filing requirements and did not decide the merits of Moore’s claims.