Gunn v. Malani
- Kenneth Karas
- 7:20-cv-02681
- U.S. District Court · Southern District of New York
- 2
In Gunn v. Malani, Chief Judge McMahon ordered an incarcerated plaintiff to correct his prisoner authorization or pay filing fees.
Darrell Gunn, an incarcerated plaintiff proceeding without a lawyer, was required to correct his prisoner authorization or pay the filing fees before the case could proceed.
What happened
In Gunn v. Malani, Darrell Gunn, who is incarcerated and representing himself, sued Correction Officer T. Malani. Gunn asked to proceed without paying the fees upfront but submitted an authorization that did not state the amount the Court could collect.
The Court gave Gunn 30 days to either pay $400 in fees or submit the attached authorization allowing collection of the full $350 filing fee from his prison account in installments. The Court also stated that no summons would issue at that time and that the action would be dismissed if Gunn did not comply.
Chief United States District Judge Colleen McMahon issued the order on May 1, 2020. She directed the Clerk to mail the order to Gunn, denied permission to appeal without prepaying fees, and warned that a later dismissal for frivolousness or failure to state a claim could count as a strike under federal law.
The detailed version
- Gunn v. Malani · No. 7:20-cv-02681
- Kenneth Karas
- May 1, 2020
Background
Darrell Gunn, who was incarcerated at Sing Sing Correctional Facility and proceeding without a lawyer, brought this civil action against Correction Officer T. Malani. Gunn submitted an application to proceed without prepaying filing fees and a prisoner authorization.
The authorization problem
The Court explained that a prisoner must either pay $400 in fees—the $350 filing fee and $50 administrative fee—or request permission to proceed without prepayment. If permission is granted, the Prison Litigation Reform Act requires collection of the $350 filing fee through installment deductions from the prisoner’s account. The prisoner authorization must direct the correctional facility to make those deductions and provide certified copies of the prisoner’s account statements for the previous six months.
Gunn’s authorization did not state the amount the Court could collect or specify that the Court could collect the full $350 filing fee from his prison account.
Order
The Court ordered Gunn, within 30 days, to either pay the $400 in fees or complete and submit the attached prisoner authorization. If he submitted the authorization, it had to identify docket number 20-CV-2681 (CM). The Clerk was directed to mail Gunn a copy of the order and record service on the docket. No summons was to issue at that time.
The order stated that the case would be processed under the Clerk’s procedures if Gunn complied and would be dismissed if he did not comply within the permitted time. The Court also certified that any appeal would not be taken in good faith and denied permission to appeal without prepaying fees. Finally, the Court warned that a future dismissal for frivolousness or failure to state a claim could count as a strike under the prisoner-filing statute.
Judge
Chief United States District Judge Colleen McMahon issued the order.
Read the full 2-page opinion on CourtListener, the free public archive maintained by the Free Law Project.