Dubarry v. Capra
- Kenneth Karas
- 7:21-cv-05487
- U.S. District Court · Southern District of New York
- 2
In Dubarry v. Capra, Judge Swain ordered the incarcerated plaintiffs to pay fees or submit required forms before the case could proceed.
Darius Dubarry, Harry Rivera, and Jayquan Griffin, the incarcerated plaintiffs proceeding without lawyers.
What happened
Darius Dubarry, Harry Rivera, and Jayquan Griffin sued Michael Capra in Dubarry v. Capra. The plaintiffs are incarcerated at Sing Sing Correctional Facility and brought the action without lawyers.
The court said they had to pay $402 in filing and administrative fees or request permission to proceed without paying the fees upfront. Dubarry and Rivera had not submitted the required applications and authorizations, while Griffin’s authorization was directed to the wrong federal district.
Judge Swain ordered each plaintiff to pay the fees or submit corrected forms within 30 days. No summons would issue yet; failure to comply would result in dismissal without prejudice. The court also denied permission to appeal without paying fees.
The detailed version
- Dubarry v. Capra · No. 7:21-cv-05487
- Kenneth Karas
- June 23, 2021
Background
Darius Dubarry, Harry Rivera, and Jayquan Griffin brought this civil action pro se, meaning without lawyers. The opinion states that they were incarcerated at Sing Sing Correctional Facility.
To begin a civil case in federal court, a prisoner must either pay $402 in fees—a $350 filing fee and a $52 administrative fee—or submit an application to proceed without prepaying the fees, commonly called an in forma pauperis application, along with a prisoner authorization. If the court grants that application, the $350 filing fee is collected in installments from the prisoner’s account.
Filing Deficiencies
The complaint was submitted without fees or completed applications and authorizations from Dubarry and Rivera. Griffin submitted an application and authorization, but his authorization directed payment to the Eastern District of New York rather than this court. The court required the plaintiffs to use forms labeled with docket number 21-CV-5487 (LTS).
Ruling
The court ordered the plaintiffs, within 30 days of June 23, 2021, either to pay the $402 in fees or for each plaintiff to submit the attached application and prisoner authorization forms. The Clerk of Court was directed to mail the order to the plaintiffs and record service on the docket. No summons was to issue at that time.
The order stated that, if the plaintiffs complied, the case would be processed under the Clerk’s Office procedures. If they did not comply within the allowed time, the action would be dismissed without prejudice, meaning the order did not bar refiling. The court also certified that any appeal from the order would not be taken in good faith and denied permission to appeal without prepaying fees.
Additional Warning
The court cautioned that a later dismissal of a prisoner action as frivolous, malicious, or failing to state a claim could count as a “strike” under 28 U.S.C. § 1915(g). After three such strikes, a prisoner generally cannot proceed without prepaying fees unless the prisoner faces imminent danger of serious physical injury, as described in the order.
Read the full 2-page opinion on CourtListener, the free public archive maintained by the Free Law Project.