Dorsey v. Martuscello
- Philip Halpern
- 7:23-cv-09140
- U.S. District Court · Southern District of New York
- 5
In Dorsey v. Martuscello, Judge Swain ordered Leroy Dorsey to pay fees or submit forms, warning the action would be dismissed for noncompliance.
Leroy Dorsey must either pay the required fees or submit the required application and prisoner authorization within 30 days. The defendants were not required to answer at that time. The case would be dismissed if Dorsey did not comply.
What happened
In Dorsey v. Martuscello, Leroy Dorsey filed a civil action without paying the required fees or submitting a completed application to proceed without prepaying them. The order states that Dorsey is incarcerated and is representing himself.
The court gave Dorsey 30 days to either pay $402 in fees or submit a signed application and authorization allowing payments to be taken from his prison account. No answer was required from the defendants at that time.
Judge Laura Taylor Swain stated that the case would be processed if Dorsey complied and would be dismissed if he did not. She also denied permission to proceed without prepaying fees for any appeal from the order.
The detailed version
- Dorsey v. Martuscello · No. 7:23-cv-09140
- Philip Halpern
- Oct. 20, 2023
Background
Leroy Dorsey filed this civil action while incarcerated at Sullivan Correctional Facility and without a lawyer. He submitted the complaint without paying the filing fees and without a completed application to proceed without prepaying fees or a prisoner authorization.
The court’s requirements
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 the required application and authorization. If the court permits the prisoner to proceed without prepaying fees, the $350 filing fee must still be paid in installments from the prisoner’s account under the Prison Litigation Reform Act. The prisoner authorization directs the correctional facility to make those deductions and to provide certified account statements for the preceding six months.
The order required Dorsey, within 30 days of October 20, 2023, to choose one of those options and to label any submitted documents with docket number 23-CV-9140 (LTS). The court stated that no answer was required at that time. If Dorsey complied, the case would be processed under the Clerk’s Office procedures; if he failed to comply within the allowed period, the action would be dismissed.
Disposition
Judge Laura Taylor Swain issued an order directing payment of fees or submission of an application and prisoner authorization. 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 proceed without prepaying fees for purposes of an appeal.
Read the full 5-page opinion on CourtListener, the free public archive maintained by the Free Law Project.