Cole v. New York City Department of Corrections

Background

Ronnie Cole filed this civil action while incarcerated on Rikers Island and represented himself. The opinion states that his claims had previously been separated from a purported class action and opened as this new case. Cole submitted his complaint without paying the filing fees and without submitting a completed application to proceed without prepaying fees or an authorization for a prisoner.

Filing requirements

The court explained that a prisoner bringing a civil action must either pay $400 in fees—a $350 filing fee and a $50 administrative fee—or submit an application to proceed without prepaying fees and a prisoner authorization. If the court grants that application, the Prison Litigation Reform Act requires the $350 filing fee to be collected in installments from the prisoner's account. The authorization also directs the correctional facility to make those deductions and provide certified copies of the prisoner's account statements for the preceding six months.

Order

The court ordered Cole, within 30 days of the order, to either pay the $400 in fees or submit the required application and prisoner authorization, labeled with docket number 20-CV-3981 (CM). It directed the Clerk of Court to mail him a copy of the order and note service on the docket. No summons was to issue at that time. The court stated that the case would be processed under the Clerk's procedures if Cole complied and that the action would be dismissed if he failed to comply within the allowed period.

The court certified under 28 U.S.C. § 1915(a)(3) that an appeal from the order would not be taken in good faith and denied payment-free status for purposes of an appeal. The opinion also cautioned that a later dismissal as frivolous, malicious, or for failure to state a claim could count as a strike under the prisoner litigation statute. This order did not decide the merits of Cole's underlying claims.