Fertides v. Beaudouin

Background

Yasmil Fertides brought this civil action without a lawyer. The order states that Fertides was being held at the federal Metropolitan Correctional Center in New York, New York. Fertides submitted the complaint without paying the required fees and without completing an application to proceed without prepaying fees or a prisoner authorization.

Fees and required filings

The court explained that a prisoner filing a civil action must either pay $402—the $350 filing fee and $52 administrative fee—or request permission to proceed without prepaying fees. If that request is granted, the Prison Litigation Reform Act requires the $350 filing fee to be collected in installments from the prison trust-fund account. The prisoner authorization directs the correctional facility to make those deductions and to provide certified account statements for the previous six months. The $52 administrative fee does not apply to a person granted permission to proceed without prepaying fees.

Court’s order

The court ordered Fertides, within 30 days of the order, to either pay the $402 in fees or submit the attached application and prisoner authorization. The filings were to identify docket number 1:21-CV-4714. The Clerk was directed to mail Fertides a copy of the order and record service on the docket. No summons was to issue at that time.

If Fertides complied, the action would be processed under the Clerk’s Office procedures. If Fertides failed to comply within the allowed time, the action would be dismissed. The court also 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. The order cautioned that certain dismissals of prisoner cases can count as strikes under 28 U.S.C. § 1915(g).