Floyd v. Rosen

Background

John Floyd, III, filed this civil action without a lawyer while detained at Orange County 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.

Fees and required forms

The court explained that a prisoner 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 must be collected in installments from the prisoner’s account. The authorization also directs the correctional facility to deduct those payments and send the court certified account statements for the previous six months. The $50 administrative fee does not apply to a person granted permission to proceed without prepaying fees.

Order

The court gave Floyd 30 days from the date of the order to pay the $400 or submit the required application and authorization. The forms were to be labeled with docket number 21-CV-1668 (CM), as stated in the opinion. No summons was to issue at that time. The Clerk was directed to mail Floyd a copy of the order and note service on the docket. If Floyd complied, the case would be processed under the Clerk’s Office procedures; if he did not comply within the allowed time, the action would be dismissed.

Appeal and 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 therefore denied permission to appeal without prepaying fees. The court also warned that a prisoner’s later dismissal for frivolousness or failure to state a claim can count as a “strike” under § 1915(g). After three such strikes, a prisoner generally cannot proceed without prepaying fees in new actions unless the prisoner faces imminent danger of serious physical injury.