Wagoner v. Annucci
- Laura Swain
- 1:22-cv-02126
- U.S. District Court · Southern District of New York
- 3
In Wagoner v. Annucci, Judge Swain denied IFP status and dismissed the complaint without prejudice under the PLRA’s three-strikes rule.
Tina Lynne Wagoner’s ability to proceed without paying filing fees in this action and on appeal; the complaint was dismissed without prejudice, while the defendants were not required to litigate the underlying allegations in this order.
What happened
Tina Lynne Wagoner filed a complaint without paying the filing fees and asked to proceed without paying them. She sued New York State Department of Corrections and Community Supervision official A. Annucci and Bedford Hills Correctional Facility Superintendent Russell, concerning interruptions to college classes for incarcerated students.
The court said Wagoner had previously accumulated enough qualifying dismissals to be barred from filing new cases without paying fees under the Prison Litigation Reform Act’s three-strikes rule. The exception for a prisoner facing imminent danger of serious physical injury did not apply because her complaint did not allege that kind of danger.
Judge Laura Taylor Swain denied Wagoner’s request to proceed without paying fees and dismissed the complaint without prejudice. The court said Wagoner could start a new case by paying the required fees, and it also denied fee-free status for any appeal from the order.
The detailed version
- Wagoner v. Annucci · No. 1:22-cv-02126
- Laura Swain
- Mar. 16, 2022
Background
Tina Lynne Wagoner, who was incarcerated at Bedford Hills Correctional Facility, filed a complaint without paying the filing fees. Although she did not submit a formal application to proceed without paying fees or a prisoner authorization, the court treated the complaint as requesting that status. Wagoner proceeded without a lawyer.
The complaint concerned Wagoner and “other inmate students” participating in the Mary Mount Manhattan College Program. It asked the defendants to consider implementing “college-holds on inmates” so that class participation would not be interrupted. The listed defendants were New York State Department of Corrections and Community Supervision official A. Annucci and Bedford Hills Correctional Facility Superintendent Russell.
Three-strikes rule
The Prison Litigation Reform Act’s three-strikes provision, 28 U.S.C. § 1915(g), generally prevents a prisoner from bringing a civil action without paying the filing fee after three or more prior actions or appeals were dismissed as frivolous, malicious, or for failing to state a claim. The statute contains an exception when the prisoner is under imminent danger of serious physical injury.
The court stated that Wagoner was already barred from filing a new action without paying fees while incarcerated. It also determined that the exception did not apply because the complaint did not allege an imminent danger of serious physical injury. The court therefore did not reach the underlying allegations about the college program or the requested college holds.
Ruling
Judge Laura Taylor Swain denied Wagoner’s request to proceed without paying fees and dismissed the complaint without prejudice under the PLRA’s three-strikes rule. “Without prejudice” means the order did not bar her from commencing a new action by paying the relevant fees. The court noted that a new complaint would be reviewed under the prisoner-screening statute, 28 U.S.C. § 1915A.
The court also certified that an appeal from the order would not be taken in good faith and denied fee-free status for purposes of an appeal. Wagoner remained barred from filing future actions without paying fees while in custody unless she alleged that she was under an imminent threat of serious physical injury.
Read the full 3-page opinion on CourtListener, the free public archive maintained by the Free Law Project.