Turner v. Annucci
- Laura Swain
- 1:23-cv-06897
- U.S. District Court · Southern District of New York
- 7
In Turner v. Annucci, Judge Swain ordered pro se plaintiff Terrence Turner to pay fees or submit forms and an original signature within 30 days.
Terrence Turner’s case was put on hold pending payment of the filing fees or submission of the required fee forms and an original signature. The named defendants were not served because no summons was issued.
What happened
In Turner v. Annucci, Terrence Turner filed a civil action without paying the required fees or submitting the paperwork needed to request permission to proceed without paying the fees upfront. He also submitted the complaint without his signature.
The court gave Turner 30 days to either pay $402 or submit a completed application to proceed without prepaying fees and a prisoner authorization. He must also submit an original signature page. The court did not issue summonses at this time.
Judge Laura Taylor Swain ordered that the case will be processed if Turner complies, but that the action will be dismissed if he does not comply within the deadline. She also denied permission to appeal without prepaying fees.
The detailed version
- Turner v. Annucci · No. 1:23-cv-06897
- Laura Swain
- Aug. 9, 2023
Background
Terrence Turner, 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, a completed application to proceed without prepaying fees, a prisoner authorization, and Turner’s signature.
Court’s directives
The court ordered Turner, within 30 days of the order, to do one of two things: pay $402 in fees, consisting of a $350 filing fee and a $52 administrative fee, or submit a completed application to proceed without prepaying fees and a prisoner authorization. The authorization would allow deductions from his prison account toward the $350 filing fee in installments and would direct the submission of certified account statements for the previous six months. The court noted that the $52 administrative fee does not apply to a person granted permission to proceed without prepaying fees.
The court separately ordered Turner to resubmit the complaint’s signature page with an original signature within 30 days. The court directed that the documents identify docket number 23-CV-6897 (LTS).
Effect of the order
The court ordered that no summons would be issued at that time. If Turner complies, the Clerk’s Office will process the case under its usual procedures. If he does not comply within the allowed time, the action will be dismissed. The order did not decide the underlying claims.
The court also certified that an appeal from the order would not be taken in good faith and denied permission to appeal without prepaying fees. The order cautioned that a later dismissal for being frivolous, malicious, or failing to state a claim could count as a qualifying dismissal under the federal prisoner-filing statute.
Read the full 7-page opinion on CourtListener, the free public archive maintained by the Free Law Project.