Peachey v. Schiff
- Philip Halpern
- 7:23-cv-06409
- U.S. District Court · Southern District of New York
- 3
In Peachey v. Schiff, Judge Swain ordered the incarcerated plaintiff to submit original signatures and address filing fees before the case could proceed.
Christopher J. Peachey and the further processing of his case; the order required him to correct filing defects and address the filing fee before the case could proceed.
What happened
In Christopher J. Peachey v. Sheriff Michael Schiff, et al., the incarcerated plaintiff filed a civil-rights case without signing the complaint or the application to proceed without paying fees.
The court gave Peachey 30 days to resubmit both signature pages with original signatures and either pay $402 in fees or submit a signed prisoner authorization. The court directed that no summons issue yet and warned that the action would be dismissed if he did not comply.
Chief Judge Laura Taylor Swain issued the order. She also denied permission to appeal without paying fees, certifying that an appeal would not be taken in good faith. The order did not decide the underlying claims.
The detailed version
- Peachey v. Schiff · No. 7:23-cv-06409
- Philip Halpern
- July 25, 2023
Background
Christopher J. Peachey, who is incarcerated and proceeding without a lawyer, filed this action without signing the complaint or the application to proceed without prepaying filing fees. He also did not submit the filing fees or a completed prisoner authorization.
Court’s Analysis
The court explained that Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 11(a) requires an unrepresented party to personally sign a pleading or other court filing. It directed Peachey to resubmit the signature pages of the complaint and fee application with original signatures within 30 days.
The court also explained that a prisoner must either pay the $402 required to file a civil action or request permission to proceed without prepaying fees by submitting a signed fee application and prisoner authorization. The authorization permits installment deductions of the $350 filing fee from the prisoner’s account. The court noted that the $52 administrative fee does not apply to a person granted permission to proceed without prepaying fees.
Order and Effect
Chief Judge Laura Taylor Swain ordered Peachey, within 30 days, to provide the original signatures and either pay the $402 in fees or submit a signed prisoner authorization. No summons would issue at that time. If Peachey complied, the Clerk’s Office would process the case under its procedures; if he did not, the action would be dismissed. The court also certified that any appeal would not be taken in good faith and denied permission to appeal without prepaying fees. The order did not address the merits of Peachey’s claims.
Read the full 3-page opinion on CourtListener, the free public archive maintained by the Free Law Project.