Reed v. City of New York

Background

Calvin Reed, who is incarcerated at Fishkill Correctional Facility, filed this civil action without a lawyer against the City of New York and identified John and Jane Doe defendants. He submitted the complaint without paying the required fees and without 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 a signed application to proceed without prepaying fees and a prisoner authorization. If that application is granted, the $350 filing fee must be collected in installments from the prisoner’s account. The authorization also directs the correctional facility to deduct those payments and provide certified account statements for the prior six months. The $52 administrative fee does not apply to a person granted permission to proceed without prepaying fees.

The court ordered Reed, within 30 days of the order, to pay the $402 or submit the required application and authorization, labeled with docket number 22-CV-10444 (LTS). No summons will issue at this time. If Reed complies, the clerk’s office will process the case under its procedures. If he fails to comply within the permitted time, the action will be dismissed.

Appeal and warning

The court certified that any appeal from this order would not be taken in good faith and denied permission to proceed without prepaying fees for an appeal. The order also warned that a later dismissal of a prisoner’s federal civil action as frivolous, malicious, or failing to state a claim can count as a strike under the prisoner litigation statute. After three strikes, a prisoner generally cannot proceed without prepaying fees unless an imminent danger of serious physical injury exists.