Hayes v. John/Jane Doe

Background

Hafiz Hayes filed this civil action without paying the filing fees and without submitting a completed application to proceed without prepaying fees or costs. The opinion states that Hayes is incarcerated at Green Haven Correctional Facility and is proceeding without a lawyer.

The court explained that a prisoner filing a civil action must either pay $405 in fees—a $350 filing fee and a $55 administrative fee—or request permission to proceed without prepaying fees. To make that request, a prisoner must submit a signed application and a prisoner authorization. The authorization directs the correctional facility to deduct the $350 filing fee from the prison account in installments and to send the court certified account statements for the previous six months. The court also noted that the $55 administrative fee does not apply to a person granted permission to proceed without prepaying fees.

Order

The court directed Hayes, within 30 days of the order, to do one of two things: pay the $405 in fees, or submit the attached application and prisoner authorization. Any submitted documents were to identify docket number 24-CV-560 (LTS).

No answer from the defendant was required at that time. If Hayes complies, the case will be processed under the Clerk’s Office procedures. If he does not comply within the allowed period, the action will be dismissed.

Other ruling and warning

Judge Laura Taylor Swain certified under 28 U.S.C. § 1915(a)(3) that an appeal from the order would not be taken in good faith and denied permission to appeal without prepaying fees. The order also warned that certain future dismissals of a prisoner’s federal civil actions or appeals may count as “strikes” under 28 U.S.C. § 1915(g), which can limit a prisoner’s ability to file future actions without prepaying fees.