Tucker v. Department of Corrections
- Laura Swain
- 1:20-cv-09496
- U.S. District Court · Southern District of New York
- 1
In Tucker v. Department of Corrections, Chief Judge McMahon dismissed Tucker’s complaint without prejudice for not paying the filing fee or submitting required forms.
The complaint brought by Theodore Tucker was dismissed without prejudice because he did not submit the required fee-waiver and prisoner-authorization forms or pay the filing fee. Permission to appeal without paying the appeal fee was also denied.
What happened
In Tucker v. Department of Corrections, the court had ordered Theodore Tucker to submit an application to proceed without paying the filing fee and a prisoner authorization, or to pay the required filing fees.
Tucker did neither within the court-ordered deadline. The court therefore dismissed the complaint without prejudice, meaning the dismissal did not bar refiling.
Chief Judge Colleen McMahon also ruled that an appeal would not be taken in good faith and denied Tucker permission to appeal without paying the appeal fee.
The detailed version
- Tucker v. Department of Corrections · No. 1:20-cv-09496
- Laura Swain
- Jan. 19, 2021
Background
The court had previously ordered Theodore Tucker, within 30 days, to either submit a completed application to proceed without paying the filing fee and a prisoner authorization, or pay the $400 in fees required to file a civil action. The earlier order warned that failure to comply would result in dismissal.
Ruling
Tucker did not submit the required forms or pay the filing fee. The court dismissed the complaint without prejudice under 28 U.S.C. §§ 1914 and 1915. The order therefore did not bar Tucker from refiling the complaint.
The court also certified under 28 U.S.C. § 1915(a)(3) that an appeal would not be taken in good faith. It denied permission to appeal without paying the appeal fee. The order directed the Clerk of Court to mail Tucker a copy and record service on the docket.
Disposition
Chief Judge Colleen McMahon dismissed the complaint without prejudice and denied permission to appeal without paying the appeal fee.
Read the full 1-page opinion on CourtListener, the free public archive maintained by the Free Law Project.