Zuleta v. Krom
- Laura Swain
- 1:23-cv-07225
- U.S. District Court · Southern District of New York
- 3
In Zuleta v. Krom, Judge Swain ordered the prisoner to pay fees or submit authorization within 30 days.
Hector Munoz Zuleta must either pay the required fees or submit the prisoner authorization within 30 days for the case to proceed; the order did not decide the claims against J. Krom or the other defendants.
What happened
Hector Munoz Zuleta sued J. Krom and other defendants while incarcerated and submitted an application to proceed without paying fees upfront. He did not submit the required prisoner authorization.
The court ordered Zuleta, within 30 days, to either pay $402 in fees or submit the authorization allowing installment deductions from his prison account. No summons will issue yet, and the case will proceed through the Clerk’s Office only if he complies; otherwise, the action will be dismissed.
Judge Laura Taylor Swain also denied permission to appeal without paying fees, certifying that an appeal would not be taken in good faith.
The detailed version
- Zuleta v. Krom · No. 1:23-cv-07225
- Laura Swain
- Aug. 18, 2023
Background
Hector Munoz Zuleta, who was incarcerated at Sullivan Correctional Facility, brought this civil action without a lawyer. He submitted an application to proceed without prepaying filing fees, but he did not submit the required prisoner authorization.
Order
The court explained that a prisoner proceeding without prepayment of fees must submit both an application and an authorization. The authorization directs the correctional facility to deduct the $350 filing fee from the prisoner’s account in installments and to send the court certified account statements covering the previous six months. The $52 administrative fee does not apply to a person granted permission to proceed without prepaying fees.
Within 30 days of the order, Zuleta must either pay $402 in fees or complete and submit the prisoner authorization labeled with docket number 23-CV-7225 (LTS). No summons will issue at this time. If he complies, the Clerk’s Office will process the case under its procedures; if he does not comply within the allowed time, the action will be dismissed.
Appeal and Effect
Judge Laura Taylor Swain certified under 28 U.S.C. § 1915(a)(3) that any appeal from the order would not be taken in good faith and denied permission to appeal without prepaying fees. The order did not address the underlying claims against the defendants.
Read the full 3-page opinion on CourtListener, the free public archive maintained by the Free Law Project.