Tineo-Santos v. Dudelson

Background

Francisco Tineo-Santos, who was incarcerated at Wende Correctional Facility, filed this civil action without a lawyer. He submitted the complaint without paying the filing fees and without submitting a completed application to proceed without prepaying fees or a prisoner authorization.

Court’s Order

The court explained that a prisoner starting a civil action must either pay $402 in fees—a $350 filing fee and a $52 administrative fee—or submit the required application and authorization to request permission to proceed without prepaying fees. Even if permission is granted, the $350 filing fee must be collected from a prisoner’s account in installments. The prisoner authorization allows the facility to deduct those payments and requires certified account statements for the previous six months to be sent to the court.

Within 30 days of the order, Tineo-Santos had to either pay the $402 or submit the completed application and prisoner authorization, labeled with docket number 22-CV-10170. The court stated that no answer was required at that time. If Tineo-Santos complied, the case would be processed under the Clerk’s Office’s procedures; if he failed to comply within the allowed time, the action would be dismissed.

Appeal and Classification

The court 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 appeal without prepaying fees. The order also warned that certain future dismissals of prisoner actions could count as strikes under 28 U.S.C. § 1915(g). The opinion does not address the merits of Tineo-Santos’s claims against Alexander Martin Dudelson. Judge Laura Taylor Swain’s order was therefore a procedural order concerning filing fees and required forms.