Potter v. Port Jervis Police Department
- Louis Stanton
- 1:20-cv-07209
- U.S. District Court · Southern District of New York
- 2
In Potter v. Port Jervis Police Department, Judge McMahon ordered the prisoner to pay filing fees or submit required forms before the case could proceed.
Donald J. Potter was required to pay the filing fees or submit the required forms within 30 days for his action to proceed; failure to comply would result in dismissal of the action.
What happened
In Potter v. Port Jervis Police Department, Donald J. Potter filed a civil case without paying the required fees or submitting a completed application to proceed without prepaying them. The order states that Potter was being held at Pike County Correctional Facility and was representing himself.
The court gave Potter 30 days to either pay $400 in fees or submit the required application and authorization forms. The authorization would allow the $350 filing fee to be collected in installments from his prison account. The court also directed the Clerk to mail him the order, and no summons would issue at that time.
Chief United States District Judge Colleen McMahon ordered that the case proceed under the Clerk’s procedures if Potter complied, but stated that the action would be dismissed if he did not comply within the deadline. The court also denied permission to appeal without paying fees, finding that any appeal would not be taken in good faith.
The detailed version
- Potter v. Port Jervis Police Department · No. 1:20-cv-07209
- Louis Stanton
- Sept. 21, 2020
Background
Donald J. Potter filed this civil action without paying the required fees and without submitting a completed application to proceed without prepaying fees or a prisoner authorization. The opinion states that Potter was being held at Pike County Correctional Facility in Lords Valley, Pennsylvania, and was representing himself.
Fee requirements
The court explained that a prisoner starting a federal civil action must either pay $400 in fees—a $350 filing fee and a $50 administrative fee—or submit a signed application to proceed without prepaying fees and a prisoner authorization. If the court grants that application, the Prison Litigation Reform Act requires collection of the $350 filing fee in installments from the prisoner’s prison trust account. The authorization also directs the correctional facility to deduct those payments and provide certified copies of the prisoner’s account statements for the preceding six months. The $50 administrative fee does not apply to a person granted permission to proceed without prepaying fees.
Order
The court ordered Potter, within 30 days of the order, to either pay the $400 in fees or submit the application and prisoner authorization forms, labeled with docket number 1:20-CV-7209 (CM). The Clerk was directed to mail Potter a copy of the order and note service on the docket. No summons was to issue at that time.
If Potter complied, the action would be processed under the Clerk’s 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 denied permission to appeal without prepaying fees. The order additionally warned about the possible “strike” consequences under 28 U.S.C. § 1915(g) of certain future dismissals, although it did not make such a dismissal in this order.
Judge
Chief United States District Judge Colleen McMahon signed the order on September 21, 2020.
Read the full 2-page opinion on CourtListener, the free public archive maintained by the Free Law Project.