Encarnacion v. Irby

Background

Samuel Encarnacion, who the opinion says is incarcerated at Five Points Correctional Facility, brought this civil action without a lawyer. He submitted an application to proceed without prepaying court fees, commonly called an IFP application, but did not submit the required prisoner authorization.

Order

The court explained that a prisoner starting a civil action must either pay $402—$350 for the filing fee and $52 for the administrative fee—or request permission to proceed without prepayment. If the court grants the request, the Prison Litigation Reform Act requires the $350 filing fee to be collected in installments from the prisoner's account. The prisoner authorization directs the correctional facility to make those deductions and to send the court certified copies of the prisoner's account statements for the preceding six months.

The court ordered Encarnacion, within 30 days of the order, to either pay the $402 or complete and submit the attached prisoner authorization labeled with docket number 22-CV-1733 (LTS). No summons would issue at that time. The court stated that, if Encarnacion complied, the case would be processed under the Clerk's Office procedures; if he failed to comply within the allowed time, the action would be dismissed. The court also noted that the $52 administrative fee does not apply to a person granted permission to proceed without prepayment.

Other Rulings and Effect

The court 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 order did not address the merits of Encarnacion's claims against Sandra Irby or the other defendants. It also cautioned that a later dismissal for frivolousness or failure to state a claim could count as a strike under 28 U.S.C. § 1915(g), but the opinion did not say that such a dismissal had occurred.