Wallace v. All Personal Liability Carriers-Underwriters of Land
- Laura Swain
- 1:22-cv-08022
- U.S. District Court · Southern District of New York
- 3
In Wallace v. All Personal Liability Carriers-Underwriters of Land, Judge Swain denied Wallace IFP and dismissed the action without prejudice under the three-strikes rule.
Wallace’s request to proceed without prepaying the filing fee was denied, and the action was dismissed without prejudice. Hillis was told he may file a new civil action and request a fee waiver. The court’s ruling did not decide the underlying claims against the defendants.
What happened
In Wallace v. All Personal Liability Carriers-Underwriters of Land, Charles Kenneth Wallace, Sr., and Ronald Hillis, both incarcerated at David Wade Correctional Center, sued the defendants without lawyers. They asked to proceed without paying the filing fee upfront.
The court said Wallace had at least three qualifying prior dismissals and therefore could not proceed without paying the fee unless he alleged facts showing that he faced an immediate danger of serious physical injury. The complaint discussed the Sackler family and the opioid crisis but did not allege facts showing such a danger. The opinion says Hillis may file a new civil action and ask the court to waive the filing fee.
Judge Laura Taylor Swain denied Wallace’s request to proceed without paying the fee and dismissed the complaint without prejudice under the Prison Litigation Reform Act’s three-strikes rule. The court also denied fee-free status for any appeal and directed the clerk to enter judgment.
The detailed version
- Wallace v. All Personal Liability Carriers-Underwriters of Land · No. 1:22-cv-08022
- Laura Swain
- Dec. 23, 2022
Background
Charles Kenneth Wallace, Sr., and Ronald Hillis, who the opinion states were incarcerated at David Wade Correctional Center in Homer, Louisiana, brought this action without lawyers. They requested permission to proceed without prepaying the filing fee, a status commonly called proceeding without payment of fees. The defendants included All Personal Liability Carriers-Underwriters of Land and several individuals identified in the caption.
Three-strikes rule
The court applied 28 U.S.C. § 1915(g), part of the Prison Litigation Reform Act. That provision generally prevents a prisoner from bringing a civil action without prepaying the filing fee when the prisoner has had three or more earlier federal actions or appeals dismissed as frivolous, malicious, or for failing to state a legally sufficient claim. An exception applies if the prisoner alleges that he is in imminent danger of serious physical injury.
The court found that the rule applied to Wallace because earlier proceedings had identified at least four qualifying dismissals. The complaint asserted claims against the “Sackler Family” and generally complained about the opioid crisis, but the court found no facts suggesting that Wallace faced imminent danger of serious physical injury. The opinion states that Hillis may file a new civil action and request that the court waive prepayment of the filing fee.
Ruling
Judge Laura Taylor Swain denied Wallace’s request to proceed without prepaying the filing fee. The court dismissed the complaint without prejudice under the Prison Litigation Reform Act’s three-strikes rule. The dismissal was based on Wallace’s inability to proceed without paying the fee and the absence of allegations showing imminent danger; the opinion did not decide the underlying claims against the defendants.
The court stated that Wallace remains barred from filing future actions without prepaying the filing fee while he is in custody, unless he is under an imminent threat of serious physical injury. It also certified that an appeal would not be taken in good faith and denied fee-free status for an appeal. The court directed the clerk to enter judgment.
Read the full 3-page opinion on CourtListener, the free public archive maintained by the Free Law Project.