Berg v. The State of New York
- Laura Swain
- 1:21-cv-03293
- U.S. District Court · Southern District of New York
- 3
In Berg v. The State of New York, Judge Swain ordered Berg to pay the remaining $52 fee; otherwise, the complaint would be dismissed without prejudice.
Michael Robert Berg, the court’s Cashier’s Unit, and the status of Berg’s complaint.
What happened
In Berg v. The State of New York, Michael Robert Berg, who was incarcerated and representing himself, filed a civil action and sent the court a $350 money order. The court said the full filing costs were $402, including a $52 administrative fee.
The court gave Berg 30 days to send a certified check or money order for the $52 balance. He could instead submit an application to proceed without paying the fees in advance, along with authorization for payments to be deducted from his inmate account.
Judge Laura Taylor Swain ordered the court cashier to hold the $350 money order for 30 days. If Berg did not pay the balance or submit the required application and authorization, the money order would be returned and the complaint would be dismissed without prejudice, meaning he could refile with the required payment or paperwork. No summons would issue at that time.
The detailed version
- Berg v. The State of New York · No. 1:21-cv-03293
- Laura Swain
- May 5, 2021
Background
Michael Robert Berg, who was incarcerated at Green Haven Correctional Facility, brought this action representing himself. The opinion states that a prisoner seeking to proceed with a civil action must either pay $402 in fees—a $350 filing fee and a $52 administrative fee—or submit an application to proceed without prepaying fees, commonly called an application to proceed in forma pauperis, together with a prisoner authorization.
Berg sent the court a $350 money order after filing his complaint. Because the court had not granted him permission to proceed without prepaying fees, the $52 administrative fee remained unpaid.
Court’s Order
Judge Laura Taylor Swain directed Berg, within 30 days, to send a $52 certified check or money order to the court’s cashier. The court directed the Cashier’s Unit to hold Berg’s $350 money order for that same 30-day period. If the court received the $52 payment, the case would be processed under the Clerk’s Office procedures.
If Berg could not prepay the $52 administrative fee, the court allowed him to submit an application to proceed without prepaying fees and a prisoner authorization. If that application were granted, the $350 filing fee would be deducted from his inmate account in installments, and the $350 money order would be returned.
If Berg did not provide the $52 payment or the required application and authorization within the allowed time, the $350 money order would be returned and the complaint would be dismissed without prejudice to refiling with the proper fees or documents. The court also stated that no summons would issue at that time. It certified that an appeal from the order would not be taken in good faith and denied permission to proceed without prepaying fees for purposes of an appeal.
Read the full 3-page opinion on CourtListener, the free public archive maintained by the Free Law Project.