Fasano v. City of New York

Background

Anthony Fasano filed this civil action without a lawyer while incarcerated at Rikers Island – Otis Bantum Correctional Center. He submitted a complaint but did not submit the required filing fees, a completed application to proceed without prepaying fees, or a prisoner authorization.

Order

The court explained that a prisoner starting a civil action must either pay $402—consisting of a $350 filing fee and a $52 administrative fee—or request permission to proceed without prepaying fees. A prisoner who receives that permission must still pay the $350 filing fee in installments deducted from the prison account. The prisoner authorization allows the facility to make those deductions and requires certified account statements covering the preceding six months to be sent to the court.

The court ordered Fasano to comply within 30 days of the order by either paying the $402 or submitting the attached application and prisoner authorization, labeled with docket number 23-CV-9416 (LTS). The court directed that no summonses be issued at that time. It 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

The order did not decide the merits of Fasano’s claims against the defendants. Judge Laura Taylor Swain certified that an appeal from the order would not be taken in good faith and denied permission to appeal without prepaying fees. The order also cautioned that certain dismissals of prisoner actions can count as strikes under the Prison Litigation Reform Act.