Acevedo v. City of New York
- Gregory Woods
- 1:24-cv-00558
- U.S. District Court · Southern District of New York
- 3
In Acevedo v. City of New York, Judge Swain ordered Felipe Acevedo to pay fees or submit prisoner authorization within 30 days or face dismissal.
Felipe Acevedo, an incarcerated plaintiff proceeding without a lawyer, must pay the fees or submit the required prisoner authorization within 30 days to avoid dismissal of the action.
What happened
In Acevedo v. City of New York, Felipe Acevedo filed a civil action without a lawyer while incarcerated. He submitted an application to proceed without paying fees in advance, but he did not submit the required prisoner authorization.
The court explained that a prisoner must either pay $405 in fees or authorize installment payments of the $350 filing fee from the prison account. The authorization also requires certified account statements for the previous six months.
Judge Swain ordered Acevedo, within 30 days, to pay the fees or submit the completed authorization. No summons would issue yet, and the action would be dismissed if he did not comply. The court also denied permission to appeal without prepaying fees.
The detailed version
- Acevedo v. City of New York · No. 1:24-cv-00558
- Gregory Woods
- Jan. 26, 2024
Background
Felipe Acevedo, who was incarcerated at Metropolitan Detention Center, brought this action without a lawyer. He submitted an application to proceed in forma pauperis (IFP), meaning without prepaying filing fees, but did not submit the required prisoner authorization.
Court’s Order
The court explained that a prisoner must either pay $405 in fees—a $350 filing fee and a $55 administrative fee—or submit a signed IFP application and prisoner authorization. If IFP status is granted, the $350 filing fee must be collected in installments from the prisoner’s account. The authorization directs the facility to provide certified account statements for the preceding six months and deduct the required payments.
Within 30 days of the order, Acevedo was required to pay the $405 in fees or complete and submit the prisoner authorization labeled with docket number 24-CV-0558 (LTS). No summons would issue at that time. If he complied, the Clerk’s Office would process the case under its procedures; if he failed to comply within the allowed period, the action would be dismissed.
The court certified that any appeal from the order would not be taken in good faith and denied IFP status for purposes of an appeal. The order also warned about the possible consequences under 28 U.S.C. § 1915(g) of later dismissals for frivolousness, maliciousness, or failure to state a claim.
Disposition
The court entered an order directing prisoner authorization and set a 30-day deadline for payment or submission of the authorization. It did not decide the merits of Acevedo’s underlying claims. 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.