Diaz v. New York City Midtown West Police Department
- Laura Swain
- 1:22-cv-04023
- U.S. District Court · Southern District of New York
- 4
In Diaz v. New York City Midtown West Police Department, Judge Swain ordered released plaintiff Johnny Diaz to pay fees or seek a fee waiver without deciding his claims.
Johnny Diaz, who must pay the required fees or submit an application to proceed without prepaying fees and must keep his address current to continue the action.
What happened
In Diaz v. New York City Midtown West Police Department, Johnny Diaz filed the action while detained, but he was released after the case was transferred to the Southern District of New York. He had not paid the filing fees or submitted an application to proceed without paying them.
The court gave Diaz 30 days to either pay $402 in fees or submit an application to proceed without prepaying fees. The court also required him to keep his address current. The order did not decide whether his claims against the defendants were valid.
Judge Laura Taylor Swain ordered that no summons issue yet. She stated that failure to comply would result in dismissal for failure to follow the order, without prejudice to refiling, and denied fee-free status for any appeal because an appeal would not be taken in good faith.
The detailed version
- Diaz v. New York City Midtown West Police Department · No. 1:22-cv-04023
- Laura Swain
- May 19, 2022
Background
Johnny Diaz filed this civil action without paying the filing fees or submitting an application to proceed without prepaying fees. He filed the case in the Eastern District of New York on January 27, 2022. That court transferred the action to the Southern District of New York by an order dated May 5, 2022. Diaz was detained at the West Facility on Rikers Island when he filed the action, but Department of Correction records showed that he was released on May 6, 2022.
The court explained that people who are detained or incarcerated when they file a case may be subject to requirements under the Prison Litigation Reform Act. Those requirements can include paying the $350 filing fee in installments and, in some circumstances, being barred from proceeding without prepaying fees after three qualifying prior dismissals. Release does not eliminate fees that became applicable when the case was filed, but it means the released person may proceed without further prepayment if he satisfies the ordinary application requirements for a person who is not incarcerated.
Order
The court ordered Diaz to do one of two things within 30 days of the order: pay $402 in fees, consisting of the $350 filing fee and a $52 administrative fee, or submit an application to proceed without prepaying fees. If he submits the application, it must identify docket number 22-CV-4023 (LTS). The court also required Diaz to notify the court of any change to his address.
No summons was to issue at that time. If Diaz failed to comply within the allowed period, the action would be dismissed for failure to comply with the order, without prejudice to his refiling the action. The order did not address the merits of Diaz’s claims against the defendants.
Other ruling
The court certified under 28 U.S.C. § 1915(a)(3) that any appeal from the order would not be taken in good faith and therefore denied permission to proceed without prepaying fees for an appeal. Because Diaz had not updated his address, the Clerk was directed to mail the order to his last known address at the West Facility on Rikers Island and record service on the docket.
Read the full 4-page opinion on CourtListener, the free public archive maintained by the Free Law Project.