Ison v. Kachappilly
- Nelson Roman
- 7:23-cv-03402
- U.S. District Court · Southern District of New York
- 2
In Ison v. Kachappilly, Chief Judge Swain ordered Jerry Ison to pay fees or submit updated authorization before the case could proceed.
Jerry Ison, the incarcerated plaintiff proceeding without a lawyer, had to pay $402 or submit an updated prisoner authorization within 30 days for the action to proceed. PA Kachappilly and the other defendants were not yet subject to summons under this order.
What happened
Ison v. Kachappilly concerns Jerry Ison’s request to bring a civil action without paying court fees upfront. The opinion says Ison is incarcerated and is representing himself.
The court said Ison’s prisoner authorization was outdated and did not authorize collection of the full $350 filing fee from his prison account. Within 30 days, he had to either pay $402 in fees or submit an updated authorization. No summons would issue at that time.
Chief United States District Judge Laura Taylor Swain ordered that the case would be processed if Ison complied, but would be dismissed if he did not. She also denied permission to appeal without prepaying fees, finding that an appeal would not be taken in good faith.
The detailed version
- Ison v. Kachappilly · No. 7:23-cv-03402
- Nelson Roman
- Apr. 24, 2023
Background
Jerry Ison, who the opinion says was incarcerated at Orleans Correctional Facility and was proceeding without a lawyer, filed a civil action against PA Kachappilly and other defendants. He submitted an application to proceed without prepaying fees, commonly called an application to proceed in forma pauperis, along with a prisoner authorization.
Under the statutes cited by the court, a prisoner who receives permission to proceed without prepaying fees must still pay the $350 filing fee in installments from the prisoner’s account. The prisoner authorization directs the correctional facility to make those deductions and provide certified account statements for the prior six months. The separate $52 administrative fee does not apply to a person granted that status.
Court’s Order
The court found that Ison’s prisoner authorization was out of date and did not specify that the court could collect the full $350 filing fee from his prison account. The court ordered Ison, within 30 days of the order, to either pay the full $402 in fees or complete and submit the attached updated prisoner authorization. If he submitted the authorization, it had to include docket number 23-CV-3402 (LTS).
The court directed that no summons issue at that time. It stated that, if Ison complied, the case would be processed under the Clerk’s Office procedures. If he failed to comply within the permitted time, the action would be dismissed. The opinion does not decide the underlying claims against the defendants.
Appeal and Additional Warning
Chief United States District Judge Laura Taylor Swain certified under 28 U.S.C. § 1915(a)(3) that an appeal from the order would not be taken in good faith. The court therefore denied permission to appeal without prepaying fees. The court also cautioned that a later dismissal as frivolous or for failure to state a claim could count as a statutory “strike,” and that three such strikes generally prevent a prisoner from proceeding without prepaying fees unless the prisoner faces imminent danger of serious physical injury.
Read the full 2-page opinion on CourtListener, the free public archive maintained by the Free Law Project.