Gunn v. "Bill"
- Philip Halpern
- 7:20-cv-01787
- U.S. District Court · Southern District of New York
- 2
In Gunn v. “Bill,” Judge McMahon ordered Gunn to pay fees or submit authorization before the case could proceed.
Darrell Gunn, an incarcerated plaintiff representing himself, was required to pay the fees or submit the missing prisoner authorization before the action could proceed.
What happened
In Darrell Gunn v. Sergeant “Bill,” Gunn, who is incarcerated and representing himself, asked to proceed without paying the filing fees upfront. He submitted the required application but did not submit the separate authorization needed for deductions from his prison account.
The court gave Gunn 30 days to either pay $400 in fees or submit the required prisoner authorization. The state-court authorization he submitted did not satisfy this federal requirement. No summons would issue at that time, and the court warned that the action would be dismissed if he did not comply.
Chief Judge Colleen McMahon issued the order on March 4, 2020. She also determined that an appeal would not be taken in good faith and denied permission to proceed without prepaying appeal fees.
The detailed version
- Gunn v. "Bill" · No. 7:20-cv-01787
- Philip Halpern
- Mar. 4, 2020
Background
Darrell Gunn, who was incarcerated at Sing Sing Correctional Facility and proceeded without a lawyer, filed this action against Sergeant “Bill” and other defendants. He submitted an application to proceed without prepaying the filing fees, commonly called an application to proceed in forma pauperis, or IFP.
Required filing authorization
The court explained that a prisoner seeking IFP status must also submit a signed prisoner authorization. That authorization permits the court to collect the $350 filing fee in installments from the prisoner’s prison trust account and directs the facility to provide certified account statements for the prior six months. Gunn submitted a state-court form authorizing deductions under New York law, but he did not submit the federal prisoner authorization required for this action.
Order
The court ordered Gunn, within 30 days, to either pay the $400 required fees or complete and submit the attached prisoner authorization labeled with docket number 20-CV-1787 (CM). The order stated that no summons would issue at that time and that the case would be processed if Gunn complied. It further stated that the court would dismiss the action if he failed to comply within the allowed period.
The Clerk of Court was directed to mail Gunn a copy of the order and record service on the docket. Chief Judge Colleen McMahon also certified that an appeal from the order would not be taken in good faith and denied IFP status for purposes of an appeal. The order separately cautioned that certain future dismissals could count as “strikes” under the Prison Litigation Reform Act.
Read the full 2-page opinion on CourtListener, the free public archive maintained by the Free Law Project.