Truell v. John/Jane Doe
- Louis Stanton
- 1:20-cv-00839
- U.S. District Court · Southern District of New York
- 2
In Truell v. John/Jane Doe, Judge McMahon ordered James Truell to pay fees or submit a prisoner authorization before the case proceeds.
James Truell must either pay the required fees or submit the prisoner authorization within 30 days for the action to proceed. The defendant was not served at this stage because no summons issued.
What happened
In Truell v. John/Jane Doe, James Truell, who is incarcerated and representing himself, submitted an application to proceed without paying fees up front but did not submit the required prisoner authorization. The authorization would allow filing-fee payments to be deducted from his account and would provide account statements for the past six months.
The court gave Truell 30 days to either pay the total $400 in fees or complete and submit the prisoner authorization. The court said no summons would issue at that time and warned that the action would be dismissed if he did not comply.
Judge Colleen McMahon directed the Clerk’s Office to mail the order to Truell and denied permission to appeal without paying fees, certifying that an appeal would not be taken in good faith. The order also warned that certain future dismissals could count as “strikes” limiting a prisoner’s ability to proceed without paying fees.
The detailed version
- Truell v. John/Jane Doe · No. 1:20-cv-00839
- Louis Stanton
- Feb. 3, 2020
Background
James Truell, who is incarcerated at the Anna M. Kross Center on Rikers Island, 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 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 request permission to proceed without prepayment. If the court grants that request, the filing fee is collected in installments from the prisoner’s account under the Prison Litigation Reform Act. The prisoner authorization permits those withdrawals and directs the facility to send certified copies of the prisoner’s account statements for the preceding six months. The $50 administrative fee does not apply to a person granted permission to proceed without prepayment.
The court ordered Truell, within 30 days of February 3, 2020, to either pay the $400 in fees or complete and submit the attached prisoner authorization, labeled with docket number 20-CV-839 (CM). The Clerk of Court was directed to mail him 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 Office procedures if Truell complied and that the action would be dismissed if he did not comply within the allotted time.
Other Rulings and Warnings
The court 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 prisoner action dismissed as frivolous or for failing to state a claim can count as a “strike” under 28 U.S.C. § 1915(g). After three such strikes, a prisoner generally cannot proceed without prepaying fees in new actions unless the prisoner faces imminent danger of serious physical injury.
Effect of the Order
This order addressed the required filing materials and payment arrangements; it did not decide the underlying claims against John/Jane Doe.
Read the full 2-page opinion on CourtListener, the free public archive maintained by the Free Law Project.