Barnes v. Uzu
- Kenneth Karas
- 7:20-cv-05885
- U.S. District Court · Southern District of New York
- 2
In Barnes v. Uzu, Judge McMahon ordered Sergio Barnes to correct his prisoner authorization or pay filing fees before the case proceeds.
Sergio Barnes, the incarcerated plaintiff proceeding without a lawyer, must either pay the stated fees or submit a corrected authorization within 30 days to avoid dismissal of the action.
What happened
Sergio Barnes, who is incarcerated and representing himself, filed this civil action against Dr. Uzu and other defendants. He submitted an application to proceed without paying fees in advance and a prisoner authorization, but the authorization directed payments to the wrong federal court.
The court explained that a prisoner seeking to proceed without prepaying fees must authorize installment payments from the prison account. The court also said that no summons would issue at that time, and that the case would be processed if Barnes complied.
Judge Colleen McMahon ordered Barnes, within 30 days, either to pay the $400 in fees or submit the attached corrected authorization labeled with the case number. The order warned that the action would be dismissed if he did not comply, and denied fee-free status for any appeal from the order.
The detailed version
- Barnes v. Uzu · No. 7:20-cv-05885
- Kenneth Karas
- July 29, 2020
Background
Sergio Barnes, who is incarcerated at Green Haven Correctional Facility, brought this action without a lawyer. To begin a federal civil action, a prisoner must either pay the required fees or request permission to proceed without prepaying them. Barnes submitted an application for that permission and a prisoner authorization.
The authorization, however, allowed deductions from Barnes's prison trust-fund account to be sent to the United States District Court for the Eastern District of New York, rather than to the court handling this case, the Southern District of New York.
Applicable requirements
The order explained that the total filing cost is $400: a $350 filing fee and a $50 administrative fee. A prisoner granted permission to proceed without prepaying fees does not have to pay the $50 administrative fee, but the $350 filing fee must be collected in installments from the prisoner's account. The prisoner authorization directs the correctional facility to make those deductions and requires submission of certified account statements for the preceding six months.
Order
The court ordered Barnes to do one of two things within 30 days of the order's date: pay the $400 in fees or complete and submit the attached corrected prisoner authorization. The authorization was to be labeled with docket number 20-CV-5885 (CM).
The Clerk was directed to mail the order to Barnes and record service on the docket. No summons was to issue at that time. If Barnes 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 under 28 U.S.C. § 1915(a)(3) that an appeal from the order would not be taken in good faith, and therefore denied permission to appeal without prepaying fees. The order further cautioned that a later dismissal for frivolousness, maliciousness, or failure to state a claim could count as a statutory strike, and that three such strikes generally bar a prisoner from proceeding without prepaying fees unless the prisoner faces imminent danger of serious physical injury.
Disposition
The order directed Barnes to correct the prisoner authorization or pay the fees; it did not dismiss the action at that time.
Read the full 2-page opinion on CourtListener, the free public archive maintained by the Free Law Project.