Rodriguez v. Burnett
- Philip Halpern
- 7:22-cv-02198
- U.S. District Court · Southern District of New York
- 2
In Rodriguez v. Burnett, Judge Swain ordered a corrected prisoner authorization or payment of fees within 30 days, while denying fee-free status for any appeal.
Ralph Rodriguez, the incarcerated plaintiff representing himself, must either pay the stated fees or submit a corrected prisoner authorization within 30 days to avoid dismissal of the action.
What happened
In Rodriguez v. Burnett, Ralph Rodriguez, who is incarcerated and representing himself, submitted an application to proceed without paying fees upfront and a prisoner authorization.
The authorization allowed the court to collect $400 from his prison account, but the required filing fee was $350. The court gave Rodriguez 30 days to either pay the total $402 in fees or submit a corrected authorization labeled with the case number. No summons would issue yet, and the case would proceed through the Clerk’s Office only if he complied.
Judge Laura Taylor Swain ordered the correction and stated that failure to comply would result in dismissal of the action. Judge Swain also denied fee-free status for any appeal from the order, finding that an appeal would not be taken in good faith.
The detailed version
- Rodriguez v. Burnett · No. 7:22-cv-02198
- Philip Halpern
- Mar. 18, 2022
Background
Ralph Rodriguez, who was incarcerated at Fishkill Correctional Facility and represented himself, brought this civil action. To proceed without paying court fees upfront, a prisoner must submit an application to proceed without prepayment of fees and a signed prisoner authorization. The authorization permits the court to deduct the $350 filing fee from the prisoner’s account in installments and requires certified account statements for the previous six months.
Rodriguez submitted the required application and authorization, but his authorization allowed collection of $400 instead of the required $350 filing fee. The opinion states that the total fees for a civil action are $402: a $350 filing fee and a $52 administrative fee. The administrative fee does not apply to a person granted permission to proceed without prepayment of fees.
Order
The court ordered Rodriguez, within 30 days, to do one of two things: pay $402 in fees or complete and submit the attached prisoner authorization allowing collection of the correct $350 filing fee. If he submitted the authorization, he was required to label it with docket number 22-CV-2198 (LTS).
The court directed that no summons issue at that time. If Rodriguez 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 certified under 28 U.S.C. § 1915(a)(3) that an appeal from the order would not be taken in good faith and denied permission to proceed without prepayment of fees for purposes of an appeal. The order additionally cautioned that certain dismissals of prisoner actions can count as strikes under 28 U.S.C. § 1915(g).
Read the full 2-page opinion on CourtListener, the free public archive maintained by the Free Law Project.