Williams v. Orange County Jail
- Laura Swain
- 1:23-cv-00764
- U.S. District Court · Southern District of New York
- 3
In Williams v. Orange County Jail, Judge Swain ordered released plaintiff to pay $402 or apply to proceed without prepayment within 30 days.
Nayo Williams must, within 30 days, either submit a completed and signed application to proceed without prepaying fees or pay $402, and must keep the court informed of address changes. The underlying claims against Orange County Jail and Keefe Commissary Network/Vendor were not decided.
What happened
In Williams v. Orange County Jail, Nayo Williams sued Orange County Jail and Keefe Commissary Network/Vendor. He originally filed the claims while detained, but he was released before this separate case was opened.
Because Williams was detained when he filed, the Prison Litigation Reform Act required him to follow rules that apply to prisoners, including paying filing fees in installments if he proceeds without prepaying them. After his release, his ability to proceed without prepaying fees depended on his current financial circumstances.
The court ordered Williams to submit a completed and signed application to proceed without prepaying fees or pay $402 within 30 days. Judge Laura Taylor Swain also required him to update his address, stated that no summons would issue yet, and said the action would be dismissed without prejudice to refiling if he did not comply.
The detailed version
- Williams v. Orange County Jail · No. 1:23-cv-00764
- Laura Swain
- Feb. 1, 2023
Background
Nayo Williams proceeded without a lawyer and was detained at the Orange County Jail when he filed the original action. The original complaint, filed on November 10, 2022, asserted claims against several defendants, including Orange County Jail and “Keefe Commissary Network/Vendor.” On January 26, 2023, the court severed the claims against those two defendants and directed the Clerk of Court to open this separate civil action.
Williams initially filed an application to proceed in forma pauperis (IFP), meaning without prepaying filing fees, but did not include the required prisoner authorization. He later filed the authorization, and the court granted his request to proceed IFP in the original case. Williams then reported that he was no longer detained at the Orange County Jail.
Applicable rules
The Prison Litigation Reform Act (PLRA) treats a person as a prisoner based on their status when the complaint is filed. A prisoner proceeding IFP generally must pay the $350 filing fee in installments from a prison trust account. The PLRA also includes a “three strikes” rule that can disqualify a prisoner from proceeding IFP after three qualifying prior federal civil actions or appeals. A prisoner who files a complaint must also exhaust available prison grievance remedies.
The court explained that after a prisoner is released, the obligation to pay fees is determined like that of any other person seeking IFP status: the person must satisfy the requirement to show that they cannot afford to prepay the fees. The release does not change whether a dismissal of claims for failure to state a claim, frivolousness, or maliciousness could count as a strike under the PLRA.
Order
The court ordered Williams, within 30 days of the order, to do one of two things: submit a completed and signed IFP application showing his current financial circumstances, labeled with docket number 23-CV-0764 (LTS), or pay $402 in fees. The $402 consists of the $350 filing fee and a $52 administrative fee for litigants who do not proceed IFP. Williams was also required to notify the court of updates to his address of record.
The court stated that no summons would issue at that time. If Williams failed to comply within the allowed period, the action would be dismissed for failure to comply with the order, without prejudice to refiling. Judge Laura Taylor Swain also certified that an appeal from the order would not be taken in good faith and denied IFP status for purposes of an appeal. The order did not decide the underlying claims against the defendants.
Read the full 3-page opinion on CourtListener, the free public archive maintained by the Free Law Project.