Woods v. John or Jane Doe, MD
- Vincent Briccetti
- 7:21-cv-00203
- U.S. District Court · Southern District of New York
- 2
In Woods v. John or Jane Doe, Judge McMahon ordered payment or an application to proceed without prepaying fees, warning the case would otherwise be dismissed.
David Woods was required to pay the fees or submit the required forms within 30 days to avoid dismissal of the action. The defendants were not affected by a ruling on the merits because the court did not address Woods's claims.
What happened
In Woods v. John or Jane Doe, M.D., David Woods filed a civil action without paying the required fees and without submitting a completed application to proceed without prepaying fees or permission to withdraw payments from his prisoner account.
The court gave Woods 30 days to pay $400 or submit the required forms. The court directed the Clerk to mail him the order, issued no summons at that time, and warned that the action would be dismissed if he did not comply. The order did not address the claims against the defendants.
Judge Colleen McMahon also ruled that any appeal from this order would not be considered a good-faith appeal and denied permission to appeal without prepaying fees. The order further warned that a later dismissal as frivolous or for failure to state a claim could count as a strike under federal law.
The detailed version
- Woods v. John or Jane Doe, MD · No. 7:21-cv-00203
- Vincent Briccetti
- Jan. 20, 2021
Background
David Woods, who was incarcerated and proceeding without a lawyer, brought an action against John or Jane Doe, M.D., and the Superintendent of Downstate Correctional Facility. He submitted the complaint without paying the filing fees and without submitting a completed application to proceed without prepaying fees or a prisoner authorization.
Fee and filing requirements
The court explained that a prisoner filing a 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 $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 court noted that the $50 administrative fee does not apply to a person granted permission to proceed without prepaying fees.
Order
The court ordered Woods, within 30 days of the order, either to pay the $400 in fees or to submit the required application and prisoner authorization. The forms were to identify the docket number stated in the order, 21-CV-0203 (CM), although the caption identifies the action as 20-CV-0203 (CM). The Clerk was directed to mail Woods a copy of the order and record service on the docket. No summons was to issue at that time.
The court stated that if Woods complied, the case would be processed under the Clerk's Office procedures. If he failed to comply within the allowed time, the action would be dismissed. The court did not rule on the underlying claims.
Appeal and strike warning
The court 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. It also 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), potentially limiting a prisoner's ability to proceed without prepaying fees in future actions unless the prisoner faced imminent danger of serious physical injury.
Disposition
This was an administrative and filing-related order directing Woods to pay the fees or submit the required forms; it did not decide the merits of his claims.
Read the full 2-page opinion on CourtListener, the free public archive maintained by the Free Law Project.