Dennis v. Annucci
- Laura Swain
- 1:23-cv-06899
- U.S. District Court · Southern District of New York
- 3
In Dennis v. Annucci, Judge Swain ordered Antwon Dennis to pay fees or request to proceed without prepaying them and provide an original signature within 30 days.
Antwon Dennis and the continuation of his civil action; the order required him to complete filing and signature requirements before the case could proceed.
What happened
In Dennis v. Annucci, Antwon Dennis, who is incarcerated and representing himself, submitted a complaint without paying the required fees or providing a completed application to proceed without prepaying fees. He also submitted the complaint without his signature.
The court ordered Dennis, within 30 days, either to pay $402 in fees or submit the required application and authorization for installment payments from his prison account. The court also ordered him to resubmit the complaint’s signature page with an original signature. No summons would be issued at that time.
Judge Laura Taylor Swain said the case would be processed if Dennis complied, but would be dismissed if he did not. She also denied permission to proceed without prepaying fees for any appeal from this order.
The detailed version
- Dennis v. Annucci · No. 1:23-cv-06899
- Laura Swain
- Aug. 8, 2023
Background
Antwon Dennis, who is incarcerated at Sing Sing Correctional Facility and is representing himself, filed this civil action against Anthony Annucci, Joseph Sergeant, and two defendants identified as John Doe. The complaint was submitted without the required filing fees, without a completed application to proceed without prepaying fees, and without Dennis’s signature.
Court’s Order
The court explained that a prisoner filing a civil action must either pay $402 in fees—a $350 filing fee and a $52 administrative fee—or submit an application to proceed without prepaying fees and a prisoner authorization. If that application is granted, the $350 filing fee is collected in installments from the prisoner’s account. The $52 administrative fee does not apply to a person granted this status.
Within 30 days of the order, Dennis was required to do one of two things: pay the $402 in fees, or submit the required application and prisoner authorization labeled with docket number 23-CV-6899 (LTS). He was also required to resubmit the complaint’s signature page with an original signature within the same 30-day period. The court stated that no summons would be issued at that time.
Disposition
Judge Laura Taylor Swain ordered that the case would be processed under the Clerk’s Office procedures if Dennis complied with the order. If he failed to comply within the allowed time, the action would be dismissed. The court also certified that an appeal from the order would not be taken in good faith and denied permission to proceed without prepaying fees for purposes of an appeal. The order did not decide the underlying claims.
Read the full 3-page opinion on CourtListener, the free public archive maintained by the Free Law Project.