Toribio Abreu v. Doe 1
- Kenneth Karas
- 7:22-cv-02445
- U.S. District Court · Southern District of New York
- 2
In Toribio Abreu v. Doe 1, Judge Swain ordered Plaintiff to pay $402 or submit forms to proceed without prepaying fees within 30 days.
Ramel Argenis Toribio Abreu, whose case could be dismissed if he does not pay the required fees or submit the required IFP and prisoner-authorization forms within 30 days.
What happened
In Toribio Abreu v. Doe 1, Ramel Argenis Toribio Abreu filed a civil action without paying the required fees and without submitting a completed application to proceed without prepaying fees or the required prisoner authorization. The order states that Plaintiff is detained at Westchester County Jail and is representing himself.
The court gave Plaintiff 30 days from the order’s date to either pay $402 or submit the required forms. If he submits the forms, the court may collect the $350 filing fee in installments from his account if permission to proceed without prepaying fees is granted. No summons will issue yet, and the action will be dismissed if Plaintiff does not comply within the deadline.
Chief United States District Judge Laura Taylor Swain issued the order on March 30, 2022. She also ruled that an appeal from the order would not be taken in good faith and denied permission to appeal without prepaying fees.
The detailed version
- Toribio Abreu v. Doe 1 · No. 7:22-cv-02445
- Kenneth Karas
- Mar. 30, 2022
Background
Ramel Argenis Toribio Abreu filed this civil action without paying the required fees or submitting a completed application to proceed in forma pauperis (IFP), meaning without prepaying the filing fees. The opinion states that Plaintiff is detained at Westchester County Jail and is proceeding without a lawyer.
Fee and IFP requirements
The court explained that a prisoner bringing a civil action must either pay $402— consisting of a $350 filing fee and a $52 administrative fee—or submit a signed IFP application and a prisoner authorization. If the court grants IFP status, the Prison Litigation Reform Act requires collection of the $350 filing fee in installments from the prisoner’s account. The prisoner authorization permits those deductions and requires submission of certified account statements for the previous six months.
Court’s order
Within 30 days of March 30, 2022, Plaintiff had to either pay the $402 in fees or submit the IFP application and prisoner authorization, labeled with docket number 22-CV-2445 (LTS). The court directed that no summons issue at that time. It stated that the case would be processed under the Clerk’s Office procedures if Plaintiff complied, but that the action would be dismissed if he did not comply within the deadline.
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 IFP status for purposes of an appeal. The order did not decide the underlying claims against the defendants.
Read the full 2-page opinion on CourtListener, the free public archive maintained by the Free Law Project.