Houston v. Capra
- Colleen McMahon
- 7:20-cv-02135
- U.S. District Court · Southern District of New York
- 2
In Houston v. Capra, Judge McMahon ordered Houston to correct his prison-payment authorization or pay fees within 30 days.
Tyrone Houston was required to pay the fees or submit a corrected prisoner authorization within 30 days; the case would be dismissed if he did not comply.
What happened
In Houston v. Capra, Tyrone Houston, who is incarcerated and representing himself, submitted an application to proceed without paying fees upfront and a prison-payment authorization.
The authorization allowed the court to collect $400 from Houston’s prison account, but the court said it should authorize collection of the $350 filing fee. Houston had 30 days to pay the full $400 or submit a corrected authorization. The court did not issue a summons at that time.
Judge McMahon ordered the Clerk to mail Houston the order and said the action would be processed if he complied, but would be dismissed if he did not. She also denied permission to appeal without prepaying fees.
The detailed version
- Houston v. Capra · No. 7:20-cv-02135
- Colleen McMahon
- Mar. 16, 2020
Background
Tyrone Houston, also identified as Tyrone Black, filed this civil action while incarcerated and without a lawyer. To proceed without paying court fees upfront, a prisoner must submit an application for permission to proceed without prepayment of fees and a prisoner authorization. The authorization permits deductions from the prisoner’s prison trust-fund account to pay the filing fee in installments and requires the facility to provide account statements for the previous six months.
Houston submitted both documents, but his prisoner authorization permitted collection of $400 rather than the $350 filing fee. The order explains that the additional $50 administrative fee does not apply to a person granted permission to proceed without prepayment of fees.
Order
The court ordered Houston, within 30 days of March 16, 2020, either to pay the full $400 in fees or to complete and submit the attached corrected prisoner authorization. If he submitted the authorization, it had to identify docket number 1:20-CV-2135 (CM). The Clerk was directed to mail Houston a copy of the order and record service on the docket. No summons was to issue at that time.
The court stated that, if Houston complied, the case would be processed under the Clerk’s Office 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 Houston permission to appeal without prepaying fees. The opinion does not decide the underlying claims against Michael Capra or the other defendants.
Effect
This was an administrative filing order, not a decision on the merits of Houston’s civil claims. It required Houston to correct the payment authorization or pay the required fees before the case could proceed.
Read the full 2-page opinion on CourtListener, the free public archive maintained by the Free Law Project.