Almonte v. Law Enforcement Agency

Background

Juan Carlos Almonte filed this action without a lawyer and submitted an application to proceed without paying the filing fee. On February 22, 2022, the court ordered him to show cause—that is, to explain why the court should not deny his fee-waiver request and impose a filing bar under 28 U.S.C. § 1915(g).

Section 1915(g) is commonly called the three-strikes rule. It prevents a prisoner from filing future federal civil actions without paying the filing fee when the prisoner has previously filed three or more federal civil actions or appeals that were dismissed as frivolous, malicious, or for failure to state a claim. The restriction does not apply if the prisoner shows an imminent threat of serious physical injury.

The Court’s Findings

Almonte submitted a handwritten declaration. The court understood part of that declaration as arguing either that he was not a prisoner when he filed this action or that he was not a prisoner when he filed the earlier actions.

The court identified three earlier dismissals that counted as strikes under Section 1915(g):

- An action filed while Almonte was incarcerated at Sing Sing Correctional Facility that was dismissed under 28 U.S.C. § 1915(e)(2)(B)(i)-(iii). - An amended action against a federal judge and an unspecified law enforcement agency, also filed while he was incarcerated at Sing Sing and dismissed under the same provisions. - A civil-rights action against federal court employees, filed while he was incarcerated at Sing Sing and dismissed under the same provisions.

The court relied on New York State Department of Corrections and Community Supervision records, Almonte’s allegations in this action and the earlier actions, and the fact that his declaration was mailed from Sing Sing. Based on that evidence, the court concluded that Almonte was a prisoner when he filed the relevant cases and had at least three qualifying strikes.

Almonte paid the filing fee on March 1, 2022. The court therefore treated his application to proceed without paying the fee as moot, but it continued to consider whether the three-strikes filing bar should apply.

Ruling and Disposition

The court concluded that Almonte had not shown sufficient cause to avoid the bar. It barred him from filing future federal civil actions without paying the filing fee while he is a prisoner, unless he is under an imminent threat of serious physical injury. The court stated that he may start a new action by paying the filing fee, after which any prisoner civil-rights complaint would be reviewed under 28 U.S.C. § 1915A.

The court also certified that an appeal would not be taken in good faith and denied fee-free status for purposes of an appeal. It warned that submitting frivolous documents could result in additional sanctions, including monetary penalties. The order was signed by Chief United States District Judge Laura Taylor Swain.