Reid v. City of New York
- George Daniels
- 1:20-cv-00644
- U.S. District Court · Southern District of New York
- 3
In Reid v. City of New York, Chief Judge McMahon found Reid had not accumulated three filing strikes and said his fee-waiver request would be granted separately.
Cedric Reid, whose request to proceed without paying the filing fee was found not barred by the Prison Litigation Reform Act’s three-strikes rule; any appeal from this order could not proceed without paying fees.
What happened
In Reid v. City of New York, Cedric Reid, a prisoner representing himself, asked to proceed without paying the filing fee. The court had previously found that he had three qualifying dismissals under the Prison Litigation Reform Act, which generally prevents prisoners with three such dismissals from proceeding without paying unless they face imminent serious physical harm.
Reid told the court that he had not filed one of the cases counted against him and had never been confined in Virginia, where that case was filed. He stated that he had been confined in New York State during the relevant period. Based on his declaration, the court found that he had not accumulated three qualifying dismissals.
Chief Judge McMahon ruled that Reid was not barred from proceeding without paying the filing fee and stated that his request would be granted in a separate order. The court also denied fee-waiver status for any appeal from this order because it certified that an appeal would not be taken in good faith.
The detailed version
- Reid v. City of New York · No. 1:20-cv-00644
- George Daniels
- Aug. 13, 2020
Background
Cedric Reid, a prisoner at Great Meadow Correctional Facility, filed this action without a lawyer and requested permission to proceed without paying the filing fee. The Prison Litigation Reform Act contains a “three-strikes” rule: a prisoner generally may not proceed without paying the filing fee if, on three or more prior occasions while incarcerated or detained, the prisoner brought a federal action or appeal that was dismissed as frivolous, malicious, or for failing to state a claim, unless the prisoner faced imminent danger of serious physical injury.
The court had previously found that Reid had accumulated three strikes and directed him to explain why his request should not be denied under that rule. The prior strikes included dismissals in earlier related proceedings and a dismissal in case No. 12-CV-0032 in the Western District of Virginia.
Reid’s response
Reid submitted a declaration stating that he did not file the case in the Western District of Virginia. He also stated that he had been confined in New York State from March 6, 1999, through February 28, 2014, and had never been confined in Virginia.
Ruling
Chief United States District Judge Colleen McMahon found that Reid had not accumulated three strikes under the Prison Litigation Reform Act. The court therefore held that he was not barred from filing this action without paying the filing fee. The order states that Reid’s request to proceed without paying the fee would be granted in a separate order.
The court directed the Clerk of Court to mail Reid a copy of the order and record service on the docket. It 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 paying fees for purposes of an appeal.
Read the full 3-page opinion on CourtListener, the free public archive maintained by the Free Law Project.