Fasano v. Eric M. Taylor Center

Background

Anthony J. Fasano filed this civil action without a lawyer while incarcerated at Rikers Island – Otis Bantum Correctional Center. He submitted the complaint without paying the filing fees and without completing an application to proceed without prepaying fees or a required prisoner authorization.

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 the application and authorization required to request permission to proceed without prepaying fees. If that request is granted, the $350 filing fee remains payable in installments deducted from the prisoner’s account under the Prison Litigation Reform Act. The authorization also directs the correctional facility to provide certified account statements for the prior six months and make the required deductions.

The court ordered Fasano to take one of those two steps within 30 days of the order. If he submits the application and authorization, he must label them with docket number 23-CV-9322 (LTS). No summons would issue at that time. The court stated that, if Fasano complied, the case would be processed under the Clerk’s Office procedures; if he did not comply within the allowed time, the action would be dismissed.

Appeal and Effect

Judge Laura Taylor Swain certified under 28 U.S.C. § 1915(a)(3) that an appeal from this order would not be taken in good faith and denied permission to proceed without prepaying fees for purposes of an appeal. This order addressed filing requirements and did not rule on the merits of Fasano’s underlying claims. The court also cautioned that certain future dismissals of prisoner actions may count as strikes under 28 U.S.C. § 1915(g).