Toribio Abreu v. The Portela Law Firm, P.C.

Background

Ramel Argenis Toribio Abreu, who was detained at Westchester County Jail and represented himself, filed this civil action without paying the required filing fees or submitting a completed application to proceed without prepaying them.

Payment or Application Required

The court explained that a prisoner bringing a civil action must either pay $402 in fees—a $350 filing fee and a $52 administrative fee—or submit a signed application to proceed without prepaying fees, along with a prisoner authorization. If the court grants that application, the Prison Litigation Reform Act requires the $350 filing fee to be collected in installments from the prisoner’s account. The authorization also directs the facility to deduct those payments and provide certified copies of the account statements for the previous six months.

The court ordered Abreu, within 30 days of the order, to pay the $402 or submit the application and authorization forms. The forms were to identify docket number 22-CV-2512 (LTS). No summons would issue at that time. If Abreu complied, the Clerk’s Office would process the case under its procedures; if he did not comply within the allowed period, the action would be dismissed.

Appeal and Additional Warning

Under 28 U.S.C. § 1915(a)(3), Judge Swain certified that an appeal from the order would not be taken in good faith and denied permission to appeal without prepaying fees. The court also cautioned that a prisoner’s dismissal for being frivolous or malicious, or for failing to state a claim, may count as a “strike” under 28 U.S.C. § 1915(g). After three such strikes, a prisoner generally cannot proceed without prepaying fees in new federal civil actions unless an imminent danger of serious physical injury exists.

Ruling

The order directed payment of the filing fees or submission of the application and prisoner authorization. It did not rule on the underlying claims against The Portela Law Firm P.C.