Bellamy v. Annucci

Background

James Bellamy filed this civil action while incarcerated at the Manhattan Detention Complex and representing himself. An earlier related proceeding was filed in the Western District of New York. That court severed the claims arising at Downstate Correctional Facility and transferred them to the Southern District of New York, where they were opened under docket number 21-CV-1979.

Fee and IFP requirements

The court explained that a prisoner proceeding with a civil action must either pay $402 in fees—$350 for the filing fee and $52 for the administrative fee—or request permission to proceed without paying the fees upfront. To make that request, Bellamy had to submit a signed application and a prisoner authorization. The authorization permits deductions from his prisoner account toward the $350 filing fee and requires certified copies of his account statements for the previous six months.

Order

The court gave Bellamy 30 days from the date of the order to pay the $402 or submit the required application and authorization labeled with docket number 21-CV-1979. The Clerk was directed to mail him the order and record service on the docket. No summons would issue at that time. If Bellamy complied, the case would be processed under the Clerk’s procedures; if he did not, the action would be dismissed without prejudice.

Judge Colleen McMahon also certified that an appeal from the order would not be taken in good faith and denied payment-free status for purposes of an appeal. The court further cautioned that a later dismissal as frivolous or for failure to state a claim could count as a strike under the prisoner litigation statute.