Nieves v. Farber
- Lewis Liman
- 1:20-cv-00990
- U.S. District Court · Southern District of New York
- 2
In Nieves v. Farber, Judge McMahon ordered a corrected prisoner authorization or payment of fees before the case could proceed.
Michael Nieves, a prisoner proceeding without a lawyer, was required to pay the filing fees or submit a corrected prisoner authorization before the action could proceed. The defendants were not required to respond at this stage.
What happened
In Nieves v. Farber, Michael Nieves brought a civil action without a lawyer while held at the Mid-Hudson Forensic Psychiatric Center. He submitted an application to proceed without paying fees upfront and a prisoner authorization.
The court found that the authorization did not state the amount to be deducted from his prison trust-fund account. The court gave Nieves 30 days to pay the $400 in fees or submit a completed authorization. No summons would issue at that time.
Judge Colleen McMahon ordered the Clerk to mail the order to Nieves and record service. She stated that the case would be processed if Nieves complied and would be dismissed if he did not. She also denied permission to appeal without prepaying fees.
The detailed version
- Nieves v. Farber · No. 1:20-cv-00990
- Lewis Liman
- Feb. 7, 2020
Background
Michael Nieves, who was held at the Mid-Hudson Forensic Psychiatric Center, filed this civil action without a lawyer. The caption identifies the defendants as the Honorable Judge Curtis J. Farber and others. Nieves submitted an application to proceed without prepaying fees and a prisoner authorization.
Filing-fee requirements
The order explains that a prisoner bringing a civil action in the court 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 $350 filing fee is collected in installments from the prisoner's trust-fund account. The prisoner authorization must direct the facility to make those deductions and provide certified copies of the prisoner's account statements for the prior six months. The $50 administrative fee does not apply to a person granted permission to proceed without prepaying fees.
Defect in the authorization
The court found that Nieves's submitted prisoner authorization did not state the amount to be deducted from his prison trust-fund account. The court therefore directed him, within 30 days of the order, either to pay the $400 in fees or complete and submit the attached prisoner authorization, labeled with docket number 20-CV-0990 (CM).
Ruling and effect
Judge Colleen McMahon directed the Clerk of Court to mail Nieves a copy of the order and note service on the docket. No summons was to issue at that time. The order states that the case would be processed under the Clerk's procedures if Nieves complied, but that the action would be dismissed if he failed to comply within the allowed time. The court also certified that any appeal would not be taken in good faith and denied permission to appeal without prepaying fees. The order cautioned that a future dismissal as malicious, frivolous, or for failure to state a claim could count as a strike under the federal prisoner-litigation statute.
Disposition
The order directed Nieves to correct the prisoner authorization or pay the required fees; it did not decide the underlying claims against the defendants.
Read the full 2-page opinion on CourtListener, the free public archive maintained by the Free Law Project.