Pearson v. New York State
- Laura Swain
- 1:21-cv-05911
- U.S. District Court · Southern District of New York
- 2
In Pearson v. New York State, Judge Swain ordered Pearson to pay filing fees or submit prisoner authorization within 30 days.
Robert Pearson, who must either pay the required fees or submit a prisoner authorization within 30 days to avoid dismissal of the action.
What happened
Robert Pearson, who is incarcerated in the Orange County Jail and is representing himself, brought Pearson v. New York State in the Southern District of New York. He did not submit the required prisoner authorization.
The court ordered Pearson, within 30 days, either to pay $402 in fees or submit the authorization. The authorization would allow installment deductions of the $350 filing fee from his prisoner account and require account statements to be sent to the court.
Judge Laura Taylor Swain directed the Clerk to mail Pearson the order and stated that no summons would issue yet. If Pearson does not comply, the action will be dismissed; the court also denied permission to proceed without prepaying fees for an appeal from this order.
The detailed version
- Pearson v. New York State · No. 1:21-cv-05911
- Laura Swain
- July 9, 2021
Background
Robert Pearson, who is incarcerated in the Orange County Jail, filed this action without a lawyer. The opinion does not describe the underlying claims. Pearson did not submit a required prisoner authorization.
Fees and Required Filing
The court explained that a prisoner must either pay $402 in fees—a $350 filing fee and a $52 administrative fee—or request permission to proceed without paying fees upfront by submitting a signed application and prisoner authorization. If the court grants that request, the Prison Litigation Reform Act requires the $350 filing fee to be collected in installments from the prisoner’s account. The authorization also directs the correctional facility to make those deductions and send the court 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.
Order
Within 30 days of July 9, 2021, Pearson must either pay the $402 in fees or complete and submit the attached prisoner authorization, labeled with docket number 21-CV-5911 (LTS). The Clerk must mail him a copy of the order and record service on the docket. No summons will issue at this time. If Pearson complies, the Clerk’s Office will process the case under its procedures; if he does not comply within the allowed time, the action will be dismissed. The court certified that any appeal from the order would not be taken in good faith and denied permission to proceed without prepaying fees for an appeal. The court also cautioned that a later dismissal for frivolousness or failure to state a claim could count as a statutory “strike,” with consequences for future prisoner fee requests.
Read the full 2-page opinion on CourtListener, the free public archive maintained by the Free Law Project.