Alhaj v. Akwamoah
- Laura Swain
- 1:21-cv-04295
- U.S. District Court · Southern District of New York
- 3
In Alhaj v. Akwamoah, Judge Swain ordered a response about fees or prisoner authorization within 30 days before the case could proceed.
Nagibe Alhaj, who had submitted an application to proceed without prepaying fees but had not submitted the required prisoner authorization or paid the fees.
What happened
In Alhaj v. Akwamoah, Nagibe Alhaj, who was detained at Kirby Forensic Psychiatric Center and represented himself, submitted an application to proceed without paying court fees upfront. The opinion does not address the underlying claims.
The court ordered Alhaj, within 30 days, either to pay $402 in fees or submit a signed prisoner authorization. If he was not a prisoner when he filed the case, he could instead submit a declaration explaining that status. No summons would issue at that time, and the action would be dismissed if he did not comply.
Judge Laura Taylor Swain also denied permission to appeal without prepaying fees, certifying that an appeal would not be taken in good faith. The Clerk of Court was directed to mail the order to Alhaj and record service.
The detailed version
- Alhaj v. Akwamoah · No. 1:21-cv-04295
- Laura Swain
- June 2, 2021
Background
Nagibe Alhaj brought this action while detained at Kirby Forensic Psychiatric Center and proceeded without a lawyer. Alhaj submitted an application to proceed without prepaying court fees, commonly called an application to proceed without paying fees upfront, but did not submit the required prisoner authorization.
Court’s Requirements
The court explained that a person seeking to proceed without prepaying fees must submit both the fee application and, when applicable, a prisoner authorization. The authorization permits the facility holding the person to deduct the $350 filing fee from the person’s account in installments and requires certified account statements for the preceding six months. The separate $52 administrative fee does not apply to a person granted permission to proceed without prepaying fees.
Within 30 days of the order, Alhaj was required either to pay the total $402 in fees or complete and submit the attached prisoner authorization, labeled with docket number 21-CV-4295 (LTS). If Alhaj was not a prisoner when the complaint was filed, the court allowed him to submit a declaration stating facts showing that he did not meet the statutory definition of a prisoner when he submitted the fee application.
Ruling and Effect
Judge Laura Taylor Swain ordered the Clerk of Court to mail the order to Alhaj and note service on the docket. The court directed that no summons issue at that time. If Alhaj complied, the case would be processed under the Clerk’s procedures; if he failed to comply within the permitted period, the action would be dismissed. The order did not 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 permission to appeal without prepaying fees. The court cautioned that a prisoner’s case dismissed as frivolous or for failing to state a claim may count as a strike under the Prison Litigation Reform Act, and that three strikes generally prevent a prisoner from proceeding without prepaying fees unless the person faces imminent danger of serious physical injury.
Read the full 3-page opinion on CourtListener, the free public archive maintained by the Free Law Project.