Valde-Cruz v. Russo
- Kenneth Karas
- 7:20-cv-09240
- U.S. District Court · Southern District of New York
- 2
In Valde-Cruz v. Russo, Judge McMahon ordered Leonardo Valde-Cruz to pay filing fees or submit updated prisoner forms within 30 days.
Leonardo Valde-Cruz, an incarcerated plaintiff representing himself, must either pay the required fees or submit updated forms within 30 days to avoid dismissal of the action.
What happened
In Valde-Cruz v. Russo, Leonardo Valde-Cruz, who was incarcerated and representing himself, filed a civil action without paying the required fees. The application and authorization forms he submitted to proceed without prepaying fees were outdated.
The court gave Valde-Cruz 30 days to either pay $400 in fees or submit updated forms requesting permission to proceed without prepayment and authorizing deductions from his prison account. The court also directed the Clerk to mail him the order, and no summons would issue at that time.
Chief Judge Colleen McMahon ordered that the case would be processed if Valde-Cruz complied, but that it would be dismissed if he did not. She also denied permission to appeal without prepaying fees, finding that an appeal would not be taken in good faith.
The detailed version
- Valde-Cruz v. Russo · No. 7:20-cv-09240
- Kenneth Karas
- Nov. 4, 2020
Background
Leonardo Valde-Cruz filed a civil action against Anthony Russo and other defendants. The opinion states that Valde-Cruz was incarcerated at Green Haven Correctional Facility and was proceeding without a lawyer. He submitted the complaint without paying the filing fees, and the application and prisoner authorization he submitted to proceed without prepayment were out of date.
Fee and application requirements
The court explained that a prisoner starting a civil action must either pay $400 in fees—$350 for filing and $50 for administration—or request permission to proceed without prepaying fees by submitting a signed application and a prisoner authorization. If permission is granted, the $350 filing fee is collected in installments from the prisoner's account. The authorization also directs the correctional facility to make those deductions and provide certified copies of the prisoner's account statements for the previous six months. The $50 administrative fee does not apply to a prisoner granted permission to proceed without prepayment.
Ruling and consequences
The court ordered Valde-Cruz, within 30 days of the order, to either pay the $400 in fees or submit the attached updated application and prisoner authorization forms, labeled with docket number 20-CV-9240 (CM). The Clerk was directed to mail him a copy of the order and record service on the docket. No summons was to issue at that time. The court stated that the case would be processed under the Clerk's procedures if Valde-Cruz complied, but that the action would be dismissed if he failed to comply within the allowed time.
Judge Colleen McMahon 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 cautioned that a later dismissal for frivolousness or failure to state a claim could count as a “strike” under 28 U.S.C. § 1915(g), and that three such strikes generally prevent a prisoner from proceeding without prepaying fees unless the prisoner faces imminent danger of serious physical injury.
Read the full 2-page opinion on CourtListener, the free public archive maintained by the Free Law Project.