Murphy v. Piper
- Philip Halpern
- 7:24-cv-00561
- U.S. District Court · Southern District of New York
- 3
In Murphy v. Piper, Judge Swain ordered Murphy to pay filing fees or submit authorization for installment deductions.
Adam E. Murphy, an incarcerated plaintiff representing himself, must either pay the fees or submit the required prisoner authorization within 30 days to avoid dismissal of the action.
What happened
In Murphy v. Piper, Adam E. Murphy, who is incarcerated and representing himself, submitted an application to avoid paying court fees upfront but did not submit the required prisoner authorization.
The court gave Murphy 30 days to either pay $405 in fees or submit the authorization, which permits installment deductions from his prison account. No summons will issue at this time, and the case will be processed under the Clerk’s Office procedures if he complies. If he does not comply, the action will be dismissed.
Judge Laura Taylor Swain also denied fee-free status for any appeal by certifying that an appeal from this order would not be taken in good faith.
The detailed version
- Murphy v. Piper · No. 7:24-cv-00561
- Philip Halpern
- Jan. 29, 2024
Background
Adam E. Murphy, who is incarcerated at Orange County Jail, filed this action without a lawyer. He submitted an application to proceed without prepaying court fees, but he did not submit the required prisoner authorization.
Under the cited federal statutes, a prisoner must either pay the filing fees or submit an application and authorization to proceed without prepayment. The authorization directs the correctional facility to provide certified account statements and deduct the $350 filing fee from the prisoner’s account in installments. The order explains that the total fees are $405: a $350 filing fee and a $55 administrative fee. The administrative fee does not apply to a person granted permission to proceed without prepayment.
Order
The court ordered Murphy, within 30 days of January 29, 2024, to either pay the $405 in fees or complete and submit the attached prisoner authorization. The authorization must identify docket number 24-CV-0561 (LTS).
The court directed that no summons issue at that time. If Murphy complies, the case will be processed according to the Clerk’s Office procedures. If he does not comply within the allowed time, the action will be dismissed. The order did not address the merits of Murphy’s claims against the defendants.
Appeal and Additional 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 dismissals can count as “strikes” under the prisoner-fee statute, potentially limiting a prisoner’s ability to proceed without prepaying fees in later federal civil actions.
Read the full 3-page opinion on CourtListener, the free public archive maintained by the Free Law Project.