Parker v. Special Needs X-Press, Inc.
- Laura Swain
- 1:21-cv-03720
- U.S. District Court · Southern District of New York
- 2
In Parker v. Special Needs X-Press, Inc., Judge Swain ordered payment or corrected IFP papers and a prisoner authorization, without reaching the claims.
William G. Parker, whose case may be dismissed if he does not pay the required fees or submit the required amended IFP application and prisoner authorization within 30 days.
What happened
In William G. Parker v. Special Needs X-Press, Inc., Parker filed a civil action while incarcerated and submitted a handwritten request to proceed without paying fees upfront. The court said prisoners must either pay the required fees or request permission to proceed without prepayment.
Parker’s request did not answer all questions on the court’s form, and he did not submit the required authorization allowing payments to be deducted from his prison account. The court therefore gave him 30 days to pay $402 or submit an amended application and the authorization.
The court did not issue a summons and warned that the action will be dismissed if Parker does not comply. Judge Laura Taylor Swain also denied permission to appeal without prepaying fees, finding that an appeal would not be taken in good faith.
The detailed version
- Parker v. Special Needs X-Press, Inc. · No. 1:21-cv-03720
- Laura Swain
- May 3, 2021
Background
William G. Parker, who was incarcerated, filed this civil action without a lawyer. He submitted a handwritten application to proceed in forma pauperis (IFP), meaning to proceed without prepaying filing fees. The application did not answer all questions on the court’s required form, and Parker did not submit the required prisoner authorization.
Court’s analysis
The court explained that a prisoner filing a civil action must either pay $402 in fees—a $350 filing fee and a $52 administrative fee—or submit a completed IFP application and a prisoner authorization. If IFP status is granted, the $350 filing fee must be collected in installments from the prisoner’s account. The authorization directs the correctional facility to make those deductions and provide certified account statements for the preceding six months.
Ruling
The court ordered Parker, within 30 days, to either pay the $402 in fees or submit an amended IFP application and prisoner authorization labeled with the case number. The Clerk was directed to mail him the order and record service. No summons was to issue at that time. The court stated that the action will be dismissed if Parker fails to comply, but this order did not itself dismiss the action or decide the underlying claims.
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 IFP status for purposes of an appeal.
Read the full 2-page opinion on CourtListener, the free public archive maintained by the Free Law Project.