Mayo v. Kran
- Laura Swain
- 1:23-cv-03453
- U.S. District Court · Southern District of New York
- 3
In Mayo v. Kran, Judge Swain ordered the incarcerated plaintiff to pay fees or submit authorization before the case could proceed.
Maurice R. Mayo, III, who must either pay the required fees or submit a prisoner authorization within 30 days for the action to proceed; the defendants are not addressed on the merits.
What happened
Mayo v. Kran is a lawsuit brought by Maurice R. Mayo, III, who is incarcerated and representing himself, against Alexander Kran III and Leav and Steinberg, LLP. The order does not address the claims underlying the lawsuit.
The court said Mayo must, within 30 days, either pay $402 in fees or submit a signed prisoner authorization. That authorization would allow installment deductions of the $350 filing fee from his prison account and provide the court with account statements. No summons would issue at that time.
If Mayo complies, the case will be processed by the Clerk’s Office; if he does not, the action will be dismissed. Judge Laura Taylor Swain also denied permission to proceed without prepaying fees for any appeal from this order, finding that an appeal would not be taken in good faith.
The detailed version
- Mayo v. Kran · No. 1:23-cv-03453
- Laura Swain
- Apr. 25, 2023
Background
Maurice R. Mayo, III, who was incarcerated at Mohawk Correctional Facility, filed this action without a lawyer. He submitted an application to proceed in forma pauperis (IFP), meaning without paying court fees in advance, but he did not submit the required prisoner authorization.
Court’s requirements
The court explained that a prisoner must either pay $402 in fees—a $350 filing fee and a $52 administrative fee—or submit a signed IFP application and prisoner authorization. If IFP status is granted, the $350 filing fee must still be collected in installments from the prisoner’s account. The authorization also directs the correctional facility to send the court certified account statements covering the previous six months.
Within 30 days of the order, Mayo must either pay the $402 or complete and submit the prisoner authorization labeled with docket number 23-CV-3453 (LTS). No summons shall issue at this time.
Ruling
The court ordered Mayo to satisfy one of those filing requirements. If he complies, the Clerk’s Office will process the case under its procedures. If he fails to comply within the allowed time, the action will be dismissed. The court also certified that an appeal from this order would not be taken in good faith and denied IFP status for purposes of an appeal. The order does not decide the merits of Mayo’s claims.
Read the full 3-page opinion on CourtListener, the free public archive maintained by the Free Law Project.