Sheppard v. Department of Corrections
- John Cronan
- 1:20-cv-09405
- U.S. District Court · Southern District of New York
- 2
In Sheppard v. Brann, Judge McMahon ordered payment or a fee-waiver application, warning that noncompliance would lead to dismissal without prejudice.
Cyril Sheppard, an incarcerated plaintiff representing himself, must either pay the required fees or submit the required fee-waiver and prisoner-authorization documents to continue the action.
What happened
Cyril Sheppard, who was incarcerated and representing himself, filed this case without paying the required fees or submitting the forms needed to request a fee waiver. The case had been separated from a complaint filed by 49 other detainees.
The court gave Sheppard 30 days to either pay $400 or submit a signed application to proceed without prepaying fees and an authorization allowing installment deductions from his prison account. No summons would issue at that time.
Judge Colleen McMahon ordered the Clerk to mail Sheppard the order and record service. She warned that failing to comply would result in dismissal without prejudice, and denied permission to appeal without prepaying fees.
The detailed version
- Sheppard v. Department of Corrections · No. 1:20-cv-09405
- John Cronan
- Nov. 13, 2020
Background
Cyril Sheppard, who was incarcerated at the Vernon C. Bain Center and proceeding without a lawyer, filed this civil action without paying the filing fees or submitting a completed application to proceed without prepaying fees and a prisoner authorization. The complaint had initially been filed with claims by 49 other detainees. The claims were later separated, and the Clerk’s Office opened a separate case for each plaintiff.
Fee and form requirements
The court explained that a prisoner must either pay $400 in fees—a $350 filing fee and a $50 administrative fee—or submit an application to proceed without prepaying fees and a prisoner authorization. If the court grants that application, the $350 filing fee is collected in installments from the prisoner’s account. The authorization also directs the prison facility to send the court certified account statements for the previous six months.
Order
The court ordered Sheppard, within 30 days, to pay the $400 or submit the required application and authorization forms labeled with docket number 20-CV-9405 (CM). The Clerk was directed to mail him the order and note service on the docket. No summons would issue at that time. The order stated that if Sheppard failed to comply within the allowed time, the action would be dismissed without prejudice. The court also certified that an appeal would not be taken in good faith and denied permission to appeal without prepaying fees.
What the order did not decide
The order addressed filing fees and required forms. It did not decide the merits of Sheppard’s claims against the defendants.
Read the full 2-page opinion on CourtListener, the free public archive maintained by the Free Law Project.