Sowell v. The New York City Police Department

Background

Randy Sowell brought this civil action against The New York City Police Department and other defendants. The opinion states that he is incarcerated at Vernon C. Bain Center and is proceeding without a lawyer. The court’s order concerned filing fees and the paperwork required to request permission to proceed without paying those fees in advance; it did not consider whether his underlying claims were legally valid.

Payment or application requirement

The court explained that a prisoner filing a civil action must either pay $402 in fees—$350 for the filing fee and $52 for the administrative fee—or submit a completed application to proceed without prepaying fees, commonly called an IFP application, together with a prisoner authorization. If permission to proceed without prepaying fees is granted, the $350 filing fee must still be collected in installments from the prisoner’s account under the Prison Litigation Reform Act. The $52 administrative fee does not apply to a person granted IFP status.

Sowell submitted the complaint without the fees, a completed IFP application, or a prisoner authorization. The court ordered him, within 30 days of the order, to pay the $402 or submit the required documents labeled with docket number 23-CV-5348 (LTS). No answer from the defendants was required at that stage. The court stated that, if Sowell complied, the case would be processed under the Clerk’s Office procedures, and that the action would be dismissed if he did not comply within the permitted time.

Ruling

Judge Laura Taylor Swain ordered Sowell to pay the required fees or submit the IFP application and prisoner authorization. The court did not grant or deny the underlying request to proceed without prepaying fees because Sowell had not yet submitted the required application and authorization. Separately, the court certified that any appeal from the order would not be taken in good faith and denied IFP status for purposes of an appeal.