Antrobus v. Annucci

Background

Andre Antrobus filed this civil action without a lawyer while held at the Otis Bantum Correctional Center on Rikers Island. He submitted an application to proceed without prepaying filing fees, but he did not submit the required prisoner authorization.

Required Filing or Payment

The court explained that a prisoner starting a civil action must either pay $402 in fees—$350 for the filing fee and $52 for the administrative fee—or submit the documents required to request permission to proceed without prepayment. If permission to proceed without prepayment is granted, the Prison Litigation Reform Act requires the $350 filing fee to be collected in installments from the prisoner's trust-fund account. The prisoner authorization 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 ordered Antrobus, within 30 days of the order, to either pay the $402 or complete and submit the attached prisoner authorization, labeled with docket number 1:21-CV-1161 (CM). The order stated that, if he complied, the action would be processed under the Clerk's Office procedures. If he failed to comply within the permitted time, the action would be dismissed.

Ruling and Other Directions

Chief United States District Judge Colleen McMahon directed the Clerk to mail Antrobus a copy of the order and note service on the docket. No summons was to issue at that time. The court certified that an appeal would not be taken in good faith and denied permission to appeal without prepaying fees. The order also warned about the possible filing-fee consequences of future dismissals that qualify as strikes under 28 U.S.C. § 1915(g).