Coston v. NYS DOCCS

Background

Ashante Coston, appearing without a lawyer and incarcerated at Downstate Correctional Facility, submitted a letter concerning an event that occurred on December 27, 2019. The Clerk’s Office treated the letter as a complaint and opened this civil action against NYC DOCCS.

Fee and IFP requirements

The court explained that a prisoner filing a civil action must either pay $400 in fees—$350 for filing and $50 for administration—or request permission to proceed without prepaying the fees. That request is made by submitting a signed application to proceed without prepayment, commonly called an IFP application, and a prisoner authorization.

The prisoner authorization allows the court to collect the $350 filing fee in installments from the prisoner’s account and requires the facility to send the court certified account statements for the preceding six months. The $50 administrative fee does not apply to a person granted permission to proceed without prepayment.

Order

The court ordered Coston, within 30 days of January 16, 2020, to either pay the $400 in fees or submit the completed IFP application and prisoner authorization labeled with docket number 20-CV-350. The Clerk’s Office was directed to assign the matter to Judge Colleen McMahon’s docket, mail Coston a copy of the order, and note service on the docket. No summons was to issue at that time.

The order stated that, if Coston complied, the case would be processed under the Clerk’s Office’s procedures. If he failed to comply within the allowed time, the action would be dismissed. The court also certified that an appeal from the order would not be taken in good faith and denied permission to appeal without prepaying fees. The court cautioned that a later dismissal for frivolousness or failure to state a claim could count as a strike under the Prison Litigation Reform Act, potentially limiting a prisoner’s ability to proceed without prepaying fees in future cases.