Falls v. Doughty
- Laura Swain
- 1:21-cv-03425
- U.S. District Court · Southern District of New York
- 2
In Falls v. Doughty, Judge Swain ordered Falls to pay fees or submit prisoner forms within 30 days before the case proceeds.
Laquan K. Falls, the incarcerated plaintiff proceeding without a lawyer, must either pay the fees stated in the order or submit the required fee-waiver and prisoner-authorization forms within 30 days. The case could be dismissed if he does not comply.
What happened
Falls v. Doughty concerns a civil action filed by Laquan K. Falls, who is incarcerated and representing himself. Falls submitted his complaint without paying the required fees and without submitting a completed application to proceed without prepaying fees or the required prisoner authorization.
The court ordered Falls, within 30 days, either to pay the fees stated in the order as $402.00 or to submit the application and authorization forms. The order says that the authorization would allow installment payments from his prisoner account. No summons would issue at that time.
Judge Laura Taylor Swain directed the Clerk of Court to mail the order to Falls and stated that the action would be dismissed if he did not comply within the deadline. The court also denied permission to appeal without prepaying fees, finding that an appeal would not be taken in good faith.
The detailed version
- Falls v. Doughty · No. 1:21-cv-03425
- Laura Swain
- Apr. 23, 2021
Background
Laquan K. Falls filed this civil action against Terrance Doughty and others while incarcerated at Orange County Jail. The opinion states that Falls proceeded without a lawyer. He submitted the complaint without paying the filing fees and without submitting a completed application to proceed without prepaying fees or a prisoner authorization.
Payment or fee-waiver requirements
The court explained that a prisoner must either pay the fees for a civil action or submit the forms required to request permission to proceed without prepaying them. If that request is granted, the Prison Litigation Reform Act requires installment payments of the filing fee from the prisoner's account. The prisoner authorization also directs the facility to make those deductions and provide certified account statements for the previous six months.
The opinion first describes the total fees as $400.02, consisting of a $350.00 filing fee and a $52.00 administrative fee, but later orders Falls to pay $402.00. The opinion also states that the administrative fee does not apply to a person granted permission to proceed without prepaying fees.
Order
Within 30 days of the order, Falls had to either pay the $402.00 stated in the order or submit the attached application and prisoner authorization forms, labeled with docket number 21-CV-3425 (LTS). The Clerk of Court was directed to mail the order to Falls and record service on the docket. No summons would issue at that time. The court stated that, if Falls 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.
The court also certified under 28 U.S.C. § 1915(a)(3) that any appeal from the order would not be taken in good faith and denied permission to appeal without prepaying fees. The opinion did not decide the underlying claims against the defendants.
Additional warning
The court 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). After three such strikes, a prisoner generally cannot proceed without prepaying fees unless the prisoner faces imminent danger of serious physical injury, as described in the opinion.
Read the full 2-page opinion on CourtListener, the free public archive maintained by the Free Law Project.