Walker v. Velez
- Laura Swain
- 1:24-cv-01072
- U.S. District Court · Southern District of New York
- 3
In Gerald Walker v. Velez, Judge Swain ordered Walker to pay fees or seek fee waiver and file an amended complaint within 30 days.
Gerald Walker, the incarcerated plaintiff representing himself, must meet the court’s fee-or-application and amended-complaint requirements within 30 days for the case to proceed.
What happened
Gerald Walker v. Velez began when the court received Walker’s letter asking to proceed with an amended complaint against Velez. The letter did not clearly identify the claims or defendants.
The court ordered Walker, within 30 days, either to pay $405 in fees or submit an application to proceed without prepaying fees and a prisoner authorization. He also must complete and sign an amended complaint form describing the defendants, facts supporting each claim, and requested relief.
Judge Laura Taylor Swain ordered that no summons issue yet and stated that the case would be dismissed if Walker did not comply on time. The court also denied fee-waived status for any appeal from this order.
The detailed version
- Walker v. Velez · No. 1:24-cv-01072
- Laura Swain
- Feb. 15, 2024
Background
Gerald Walker, who is incarcerated at Sullivan Correctional Facility and is representing himself, submitted a letter asking to proceed with an amended complaint against Velez. The Clerk’s Office opened the letter as a new civil action. The court noted that the letter named Velez but did not clearly identify whom Walker intended to sue or explain why.
Fees or application to proceed without prepaying fees
The court explained that a prisoner starting a civil action must either pay the required fees or request permission to proceed without prepaying them. The total fee is $405: a $350 filing fee and a $55 administrative fee. If permission to proceed without prepaying fees is granted, the $350 filing fee is collected in installments from the prisoner’s account; the $55 administrative fee does not apply to a person granted that status.
Walker had submitted neither the fees nor a completed application and prisoner authorization. The court ordered him, within 30 days of the order, to either pay $405 or submit the attached application and authorization forms, labeled with docket number 24-CV-01072 (LTS).
Amended complaint
The court also ordered Walker to complete and sign the attached amended complaint form. The form must identify the defendants and state facts supporting each claim against each defendant. If Walker does not know a defendant’s name, he may use a John or Jane Doe designation and provide descriptive information. He must also describe the relief he seeks.
Disposition
The court directed Walker to return the signed amended complaint with either payment of the fees or the application and prisoner authorization. No summons would issue at that time. The case would be processed under the Clerk’s Office procedures if Walker complied; if he did not comply within the allowed time, the action would be dismissed. Judge Laura Taylor Swain also certified that an appeal from the order would not be taken in good faith and denied permission to proceed without prepaying fees for an appeal.
Read the full 3-page opinion on CourtListener, the free public archive maintained by the Free Law Project.