Ahemaiti v. City of New York
- Laura Swain
- 1:24-cv-00102
- U.S. District Court · Southern District of New York
- 3
In Ahemaiti v. City of New York, Judge Swain ordered a corrected filing authorization or payment within 30 days.
Waersi Ahemaiti and the pending civil action against New York City and the other named defendants; the order requires a corrected payment authorization or payment before the case proceeds.
What happened
Ahemaiti v. City of New York concerns Waersi Ahemaiti’s attempt to proceed without paying court fees upfront while incarcerated. The court said the submitted prisoner authorization allowed collection of $220 instead of the required $350 filing fee.
The court gave Ahemaiti 30 days to either pay $405 in fees or submit the attached, corrected authorization. The court said no summons would issue yet and that the case would be processed if Ahemaiti complied; otherwise, the action would be dismissed.
Judge Laura Taylor Swain also certified that an appeal would not be taken in good faith and denied fee-free status for an appeal. This order did not address the underlying claims against the defendants.
The detailed version
- Ahemaiti v. City of New York · No. 1:24-cv-00102
- Laura Swain
- Jan. 12, 2024
Background
Waersi Ahemaiti, who the opinion says is incarcerated at the Otis Bantum Correctional Center on Rikers Island, filed this civil action without a lawyer. The opinion does not describe the underlying claims against New York City and the other defendants.
A prisoner who wants to proceed in forma pauperis (IFP), meaning without paying court fees upfront, must submit an IFP application and a prisoner authorization. The authorization allows the court to collect the $350 filing fee in installments from the prisoner’s account and requires certified account statements for the previous six months. The total fee for a civil action is $405: a $350 filing fee and a $55 administrative fee. The administrative fee does not apply to a person granted IFP status.
Court’s Order
Ahemaiti submitted an IFP application and prisoner authorization, but the authorization allowed collection of $220 rather than the required $350 filing fee. The court ordered Ahemaiti, within 30 days of the order, either to pay the full $405 in fees or complete and submit the attached corrected prisoner authorization, labeled with docket number 24-CV-0102 (LTS).
The court directed that no summons issue at that time. It stated that, if Ahemaiti complied, the case would be processed under the Clerk’s Office procedures; if Ahemaiti did not comply within the permitted time, the action would be dismissed. The order did not decide the merits of the underlying claims. The court also certified that an appeal from the order would not be taken in good faith and denied IFP status for purposes of an appeal. Judge Laura Taylor Swain signed the order.
Read the full 3-page opinion on CourtListener, the free public archive maintained by the Free Law Project.