Schill v. Klosterman
- Colleen McMahon
- 1:20-cv-05900
- U.S. District Court · Southern District of New York
- 2
In Schill v. Klosterman, Judge McMahon ordered Schill to pay fees or submit authorization before the case could proceed.
Charles Seth Schill, the incarcerated plaintiff proceeding without a lawyer, was required to pay the fees or submit the prisoner authorization for the case to proceed.
What happened
In Schill v. Klosterman, Charles Seth Schill, who is incarcerated and representing himself, filed a civil action against correctional officers. He submitted an application to proceed without paying fees upfront but did not submit the required prisoner authorization.
The court gave Schill 30 days to either pay $400 in fees or complete and submit the prisoner authorization. That authorization would allow installment payments of the $350 filing fee from his prison account. The court said it would dismiss the action if he did not comply, and no summons would issue yet.
Judge Colleen McMahon also denied permission to proceed without prepaying fees for any appeal from this order, finding that an appeal would not be taken in good faith. The order did not decide the underlying claims.
The detailed version
- Schill v. Klosterman · No. 1:20-cv-05900
- Colleen McMahon
- July 31, 2020
Background
Charles Seth Schill, who was incarcerated at Sullivan Correctional Facility, brought this civil action without a lawyer against Correctional Officer John Klosterman, Correctional Officer Glenn Davis, Correctional Officer Aaron Davis, and Sgt. Tocco. The opinion does not address the substance of Schill's claims.
Filing-fee requirement
The court explained that a prisoner filing a civil action must either pay $400 in fees or request permission to proceed without prepaying fees. The $400 consists of a $350 filing fee and a $50 administrative fee. A prisoner who receives permission to proceed without prepaying fees remains responsible for the $350 filing fee, which is collected in installments from the prisoner's account.
To request that status, the prisoner must submit both a signed application and a prisoner authorization. The authorization directs the correctional facility to deduct the filing-fee payments and to provide certified copies of the prisoner's account statements for the prior six months. Schill submitted the application but not the authorization.
Order
The court ordered Schill, within 30 days of the order, either to pay the $400 in fees or to complete and submit the attached prisoner authorization, labeled with docket number 20-CV-5900 (CM). The Clerk was directed to mail him the order and record service on the docket. No summons was to issue at that time. The court stated that, if Schill complied, the case would be processed under the Clerk's Office procedures, and that, if he failed to comply within the allowed time, the court would dismiss the action.
Judge Colleen McMahon 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 court also cautioned that certain future dismissals could count as strikes 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.