Lifriere v. John/Jane Doe

Background

Demetrio Lifriere filed this civil action while incarcerated at Green Haven Correctional Facility and proceeding without a lawyer. 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, consisting of a $350 filing fee and a $52 administrative fee, or request permission to proceed without prepaying fees. To make that request, Lifriere had to submit a signed application and a prisoner authorization. If the court grants the application, the $350 filing fee must be collected in installments from his prison account, and the authorization directs the correctional facility to make those deductions and provide certified account statements for the preceding six months. The $52 administrative fee does not apply to a person granted permission to proceed without prepaying fees.

The court ordered Lifriere, within 30 days of the order, to either pay the $402 in fees or submit the application and prisoner authorization, labeled with docket number 23-CV-0484 (LTS). No summons would issue at that time. The court stated that the case would be processed under the Clerk’s Office procedures if Lifriere complied and that the action would be dismissed if he did not comply within the permitted time.

Appeal and Disposition

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 denied permission to appeal without prepaying fees. Judge Laura Taylor Swain did not decide the merits of Lifriere’s underlying claims.