Ruiz v. Link
- Cathy Seibel
- 7:20-cv-00235
- U.S. District Court · Southern District of New York
- 3
In Ruiz v. Link, Judge McMahon ordered Michael Ruiz to pay fees or submit corrected forms before the case could proceed.
Michael Ruiz, who must either pay the required fees or submit corrected forms within 30 days for the action to proceed; the named defendants were not required to respond at this stage.
What happened
In Ruiz v. Link, Michael Ruiz, who was incarcerated and representing himself, submitted a complaint, an unsigned application to proceed without paying fees upfront, and a prisoner authorization form.
The court found that the application was unsigned and that the authorization did not acknowledge that the full filing fee could be collected in installments even if the case ended or Ruiz withdrew it. Ruiz had 30 days to pay $400 or submit completed and signed forms. No summons would issue at that time.
Judge Colleen McMahon ordered the Clerk to mail Ruiz the order and said the case would proceed if he complied. If he did not comply within 30 days, the action would be dismissed. The court also denied permission to appeal without paying fees because any appeal would not be taken in good faith.
The detailed version
- Ruiz v. Link · No. 7:20-cv-00235
- Cathy Seibel
- Jan. 13, 2020
Background
Michael Ruiz filed this action while incarcerated and without a lawyer. The complaint names P. Link, J. Reyes, Patrick Squire, John Doe #1, John Doe #2, John Doe #3, John Doe #4, and Deborah MacDonald as defendants. The opinion does not address the substance of Ruiz’s claims.
Filing-fee requirements
A prisoner filing a civil action must either pay the required fees or submit a signed application to proceed without prepaying them, along with a prisoner authorization. The authorization permits deductions from the prisoner’s account toward the $350 filing fee and requires certified account statements for the previous six months. The total fee when paying at filing is $400, consisting of a $350 filing fee and a $50 administrative fee.
Ruiz submitted handwritten forms, but his application was not signed. His prisoner authorization also did not confirm that he understood the full $350 filing fee could be deducted in installments even if the case were dismissed or he voluntarily withdrew it.
Order
The court ordered Ruiz, within 30 days, either to pay the $400 in fees or complete, sign, and submit the attached amended application and prisoner authorization, labeled with docket number 20-CV-0235 (CM). The Clerk was directed to mail him the order and record service on the docket. No summons was to issue at that time. If Ruiz complied, the case would be processed under the Clerk’s procedures; if he did not, the action would be dismissed.
Judge Colleen McMahon also certified that an appeal from the order would not be taken in good faith and denied permission to appeal without prepaying fees. The order did not decide the merits of Ruiz’s claims.
Read the full 3-page opinion on CourtListener, the free public archive maintained by the Free Law Project.