Vasquez v. Doe
- Cathy Seibel
- 7:20-cv-05851
- U.S. District Court · Southern District of New York
- 2
In Vasquez v. Doe(s), Judge McMahon ordered Kim Vasquez to pay filing fees or submit prisoner forms within 30 days before the case could proceed.
Kim Vasquez, who must either pay the required fees or submit the specified application and prisoner authorization for the case to proceed.
What happened
In Vasquez v. Doe(s), Kim Vasquez filed a civil action against John Doe(s) and Orangetown Police Officers without paying the required fees or submitting the forms needed to ask to proceed without paying fees upfront. The order states that Vasquez is detained and is representing himself.
The court gave Vasquez 30 days from August 28, 2020, to either pay $400 in fees or submit a signed application to proceed without prepayment of fees and a prisoner authorization. The authorization would allow deductions from his account for the filing fee. No summons would issue at that time, and the court warned that it would dismiss the action if Vasquez did not comply.
Judge Colleen McMahon directed the Clerk to mail the order to Vasquez and record service on the docket. The court also denied fee-free status for any appeal from this order, finding that an appeal would not be taken in good faith.
The detailed version
- Vasquez v. Doe · No. 7:20-cv-05851
- Cathy Seibel
- Aug. 28, 2020
Background
Kim Vasquez filed this civil action against John Doe(s) and Orangetown Police Officers. The complaint was submitted without the required filing fees, a completed application to proceed without prepaying fees, or a prisoner authorization. The opinion states that Vasquez brought the action without a lawyer and is detained at the Rockland County Correctional Center.
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 allows the facility to make those deductions and provide certified account statements for the previous six months. The opinion also notes that the $50 administrative fee does not apply to a person granted permission to proceed without prepaying fees.
Order
The court ordered Vasquez, within 30 days of the order, to either pay the $400 in fees or submit the application and prisoner authorization labeled with docket number 20-CV-5851 (CM). No summons would issue at that time. If Vasquez complied, the Clerk's Office would process the case under its procedures; if Vasquez did not comply within the allowed time, the court stated that it would dismiss the action. The court directed the Clerk to mail the order to Vasquez and note service on the docket.
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 permission to proceed without prepaying fees for an appeal. The order did not decide the underlying claims against the defendants. It also cautioned that certain future dismissals of a prisoner's federal civil actions could count as strikes under 28 U.S.C. § 1915(g).
Disposition
The court directed payment of fees or submission of the required application and prisoner authorization; it did not dismiss the action in this order.
Read the full 2-page opinion on CourtListener, the free public archive maintained by the Free Law Project.