Foster v. Muir
- Laura Swain
- 1:21-cv-03711
- U.S. District Court · Southern District of New York
- 3
In Foster v. Muir, Judge Swain denied Christopher Foster’s request to proceed without fees and dismissed his complaint without prejudice under the three-strikes rule.
Christopher Foster’s ability to proceed without prepaying filing fees in this action and in future actions while he remains in custody; the complaint against David Muir and ABC World News was dismissed without prejudice.
What happened
In Foster v. Muir, Christopher Foster, who was incarcerated and representing himself, sued David Muir and ABC World News. He asked to proceed without paying the filing fee and alleged violations of the Americans with Disabilities Act and interference with fundraising by a movement with which he was affiliated.
The court found that Foster had at least three earlier cases dismissed for being legally insufficient. Because his complaint did not show that he faced an immediate danger of serious physical injury, federal law barred him from proceeding without paying the fee. The court denied his request to proceed without fees and dismissed the complaint without prejudice.
Judge Laura Taylor Swain also said Foster could file a new action by paying the filing fee, and that he could seek to proceed without fees in the future only if he faced an immediate danger of serious physical injury. Judge Swain denied fee-waiver status for any appeal as well.
The detailed version
- Foster v. Muir · No. 1:21-cv-03711
- Laura Swain
- May 11, 2021
Background
Christopher Foster, who was incarcerated and proceeding without a lawyer, filed this action against David Muir and ABC World News. He asked to proceed without prepaying the filing fee. The action was originally filed in the Southern District of Ohio and was transferred to the Southern District of New York.
Foster invoked provisions of the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990. He alleged that the defendants broadcast allegedly false information and interfered with fundraising efforts of a movement with which he was affiliated.
Three-strikes rule
The Prison Litigation Reform Act generally bars a prisoner from bringing a civil action without prepaying the filing fee if the prisoner previously had three or more federal actions or appeals dismissed as frivolous, malicious, or legally insufficient. The exception is when the prisoner is in immediate danger of serious physical injury.
The court relied on an earlier order in a prior related proceeding that identified at least four qualifying dismissals. The opinion stated that those earlier cases had been dismissed for failure to state a claim. The court also noted that other federal district courts had determined that Foster had accumulated three strikes.
Ruling
The court determined that Foster’s complaint did not show an immediate danger of serious physical injury. His allegations concerned allegedly false broadcasts and interference with fundraising, rather than the type of danger required for the statutory exception.
Judge Laura Taylor Swain denied Foster’s request to proceed without prepaying the filing fee and dismissed the complaint without prejudice under the statute’s three-strikes rule. The court stated that Foster could start a new action by paying the filing fee. It also stated that he remained barred from proceeding without prepaying fees in future actions while in custody unless he faced an immediate threat of serious physical injury.
The court certified that an appeal would not be taken in good faith and denied fee-waiver status for purposes of an appeal.
Read the full 3-page opinion on CourtListener, the free public archive maintained by the Free Law Project.