Lewis v. John/Jane Doe
- Colleen McMahon
- 1:20-cv-03405
- U.S. District Court · Southern District of New York
- 2
In Erick Lewis v. John/Jane Doe, Judge McMahon ordered Lewis to pay fees or submit forms to proceed without prepayment within 30 days.
Erick Lewis, an incarcerated plaintiff representing himself, must either pay the required fees or submit the required forms within 30 days to continue the action.
What happened
Erick Lewis v. John/Jane Doe concerns a civil action filed by Lewis, who was incarcerated at Great Meadow Correctional Facility and was representing himself. He submitted his complaint without paying the required fees or providing the required forms.
The court gave Lewis 30 days to either pay $400 or submit a signed application to proceed without prepaying fees and a prisoner authorization. The authorization would allow installment payments of the $350 filing fee from his prison account and require six months of account statements.
The court said it would dismiss the action if Lewis did not comply, and it directed the Clerk to mail him the order; no summons would issue at that time. Judge Colleen McMahon also denied fee-free status for any appeal because an appeal would not be taken in good faith.
The detailed version
- Lewis v. John/Jane Doe · No. 1:20-cv-03405
- Colleen McMahon
- May 20, 2020
Background
Erick Lewis filed a civil action while incarcerated at Great Meadow Correctional Facility. The opinion states that he proceeded without a lawyer. He submitted the complaint without paying the required filing fees and without submitting a completed application to proceed without prepaying fees or a prisoner authorization.
Payment and fee-free filing requirements
The court explained that a prisoner filing a civil action must either pay $400 in fees—a $350 filing fee and a $50 administrative fee—or request permission to proceed without prepaying fees. To make that request, the prisoner must submit a signed application and a prisoner authorization. If permission is granted, the $350 filing fee is collected in installments from the prisoner's account, and the authorization requires the facility to send certified copies of the prisoner's account statements for the previous six months. The $50 administrative fee does not apply to a prisoner granted permission to proceed without prepayment.
Order
The court ordered Lewis, within 30 days of May 20, 2020, to pay the $400 in fees or submit the required application and prisoner authorization, labeled with docket number 20-CV-3405 (CM). The court directed the Clerk to mail Lewis a copy of the order and note service on the docket. No summons was to issue at that time. The court stated that it would process the case if Lewis complied and would dismiss the action if he did not comply within the allowed time.
The court also certified under 28 U.S.C. § 1915(a)(3) that an appeal from the order would not be taken in good faith and denied permission to proceed without prepaying fees for an appeal. The order cautioned that a later dismissal for being frivolous, malicious, or failing to state a claim could count as a strike under 28 U.S.C. § 1915(g).
Read the full 2-page opinion on CourtListener, the free public archive maintained by the Free Law Project.