Rivera v. Thompkin's
- Kenneth Karas
- 7:23-cv-02503
- U.S. District Court · Southern District of New York
- 3
In Rivera v. Thompkin’s, Judge Swain ordered Raymond Rivera to pay fees or submit prisoner authorization before the case proceeds.
Raymond Rivera, an incarcerated self-represented plaintiff, and the processing of his action against Thompkin’s, Correctional Officer.
What happened
In Rivera v. Thompkin’s, Raymond Rivera, an incarcerated self-represented plaintiff, submitted an application to proceed without paying fees upfront but did not submit the required prisoner authorization.
The court gave Rivera 30 days from March 27, 2023, to either pay $402 in fees or submit the authorization, which permits installment deductions from his prison account. No summons would issue at that time, and the action would be dismissed if he did not comply.
Judge Laura Taylor Swain also denied permission to appeal without prepaying fees, certifying that an appeal would not be taken in good faith. The order did not address the underlying claims.
The detailed version
- Rivera v. Thompkin's · No. 7:23-cv-02503
- Kenneth Karas
- Mar. 27, 2023
Background
Raymond Rivera, who was incarcerated at Green Haven Correctional Facility, filed this action without a lawyer against Thompkin’s, Correctional Officer. Rivera submitted an application to proceed without prepaying filing fees, but he did not submit the required prisoner authorization.
What the court required
The court explained that a prisoner bringing a civil action must either pay $402 in fees—a $350 filing fee and a $52 administrative fee—or request permission to proceed without prepayment by submitting the required documents. Even if the court grants that request, the Prison Litigation Reform Act requires the $350 filing fee to be collected in installments from the prisoner’s account. The prisoner authorization permits the facility to deduct those payments and requires certified copies of the prisoner’s account statements for the preceding six months to be sent to the court.
Within 30 days of the order, Rivera had to pay the $402 or complete and submit the attached prisoner authorization, labeled with docket number 23-CV-2503 (LTS). No summons would issue at that time. If Rivera complied, the Clerk’s Office would process the case under its procedures; if he did not comply within the allowed time, the action would be dismissed.
Other ruling and effect
Judge Laura Taylor Swain 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. The order was about filing-fee requirements and case processing; it did not decide the merits of Rivera’s claims against Thompkin’s, Correctional Officer.
Read the full 3-page opinion on CourtListener, the free public archive maintained by the Free Law Project.