Kaid v. Tatum

Background

Saeed Kaid, who was incarcerated at F.C.I. Fairton, filed this civil action without a lawyer. He submitted an application to proceed in forma pauperis (IFP), meaning he asked to proceed without prepaying the filing fees. But he did not submit the required prisoner authorization.

Under the federal statutes cited by the court, a prisoner who seeks IFP status must authorize deductions from the prison account to pay the $350 filing fee in installments and must authorize the submission of certified account statements for the previous six months. The separate $50 administrative fee does not apply to a person granted IFP status.

Order

The court ordered Kaid, within 30 days of the order, 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-3643 (CM). The Clerk of Court was directed to mail him the order and record service on the docket.

The court directed that no summons issue at that time. If Kaid complied, the case would be processed under the Clerk’s Office procedures. If he failed to comply within the allowed period, the action would be dismissed.

Appeal and Prisoner-Filing Warning

Chief Judge Colleen McMahon certified under 28 U.S.C. § 1915(a)(3) that any appeal from the order would not be taken in good faith, and therefore denied fee-free status for an appeal. The court also cautioned that a later dismissal of a prisoner’s federal civil action as frivolous, malicious, or failing to state a claim can count as a “strike” under § 1915(g). After three strikes, a prisoner generally cannot proceed without prepaying fees in new actions unless the prisoner faces an imminent danger of serious physical injury. This order did not decide the merits of Kaid’s claims against the defendants.