Lucien v. Williams
- Kenneth Karas
- 7:20-cv-08020
- U.S. District Court · Southern District of New York
- 2
In Lucien v. Williams, Chief Judge McMahon ordered payment or an application to proceed without prepaying fees.
Leonidas Lucien, a detained prisoner proceeding without a lawyer, must either pay the required fees or submit the required IFP application and prisoner authorization within 30 days to avoid dismissal of the action.
What happened
Leonidas Lucien, who was detained at Fishkill Correctional Facility and represented himself, filed a civil action against Emily Williams and others without paying the required fees or submitting the required forms. The order did not address the underlying claims.
The court gave Lucien 30 days to pay $400 in fees or submit a signed application to proceed without prepaying fees and a prisoner authorization. If approved, the $350 filing fee would be collected from his account in installments; the $50 administrative fee would not apply. No summons would issue at that time.
Chief Judge Colleen McMahon ordered the Clerk to mail the order to Lucien and stated that the action would be dismissed if he did not comply. Judge McMahon also denied permission to appeal without prepaying fees, finding that an appeal would not be taken in good faith.
The detailed version
- Lucien v. Williams · No. 7:20-cv-08020
- Kenneth Karas
- Sept. 29, 2020
Background
Leonidas Lucien filed a civil action against Emily Williams, identified in the caption as the acting superintendent of Fishkill Correctional Facility, and other defendants. The opinion states that Lucien was detained at Fishkill Correctional Facility and proceeded without a lawyer. He submitted the complaint without paying the filing fees and without a completed application to proceed in forma pauperis (IFP), meaning without prepaying the fees, or a prisoner authorization.
Fee requirements
The court explained that a prisoner must either pay $400—the $350 filing fee plus a $50 administrative fee—or submit a signed IFP application and prisoner authorization. If the court grants IFP status, the Prison Litigation Reform Act requires collection of the $350 filing fee in installments from the prisoner’s account. The $50 administrative fee does not apply to a person granted IFP status.
Order
The court ordered Lucien, within 30 days of the order, to pay the $400 in fees or submit the IFP application and prisoner authorization. The documents were to identify docket number 20-CV-8020 (CM). The Clerk was directed to mail Lucien a copy of the order and note service on the docket. No summons was to issue at that time. The court stated that, if Lucien complied, the case would be processed under the Clerk’s procedures, and that, if he failed to comply within the time allowed, the action would be dismissed.
Chief 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 IFP status for purposes of an appeal. The order also cautioned that a later dismissal for frivolousness, maliciousness, or failure to state a claim could count as a statutory “strike” affecting a prisoner’s ability to file future federal civil actions without prepaying fees. The order did not decide the merits of Lucien’s claims.
Read the full 2-page opinion on CourtListener, the free public archive maintained by the Free Law Project.