Brewster v. Aimes
- Laura Swain
- 1:24-cv-00882
- U.S. District Court · Southern District of New York
- 3
In Brewster v. Aimes, Judge Swain ordered a corrected prisoner authorization or payment of filing fees within 30 days.
Tre’yshawn Brewster, an incarcerated plaintiff proceeding without a lawyer; the case’s processing in the Southern District of New York.
What happened
Brewster v. Aimes concerns Tre’yshawn Brewster’s attempt to bring a civil case while incarcerated and without a lawyer. He submitted an application to avoid paying fees upfront and a prisoner authorization, but the authorization directed payments to the wrong federal court.
The court gave Brewster 30 days either to pay $405 in fees or submit a corrected authorization for this case. No summons will issue yet, and the case will be processed by the Clerk’s Office if he complies. The order says the action will be dismissed if he does not comply within the allowed time.
Chief Judge Laura Taylor Swain also denied fee-free status for any appeal, certifying that an appeal would not be taken in good faith. The order did not decide the underlying claims.
The detailed version
- Brewster v. Aimes · No. 1:24-cv-00882
- Laura Swain
- Feb. 16, 2024
Background
Tre’yshawn Brewster, who is incarcerated at Gouverneur Correctional Facility, brought this civil action without a lawyer. He submitted an application to proceed without prepaying court fees and a prisoner authorization. The authorization, however, allowed deductions from his prison account to be sent to the United States District Court for the Northern District of New York rather than to the Southern District of New York, where this case was filed.
Court’s Order
The court explained that a prisoner must either pay $405—the $350 filing fee and $55 administrative fee—or submit the required documents to proceed without prepayment. If the court grants that status, 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.
The court ordered Brewster, within 30 days of February 16, 2024, either to pay the $405 in fees or complete and submit the attached prisoner authorization. The corrected authorization must identify docket number 24-CV-0882 (LTS). No summons will issue at this time. If Brewster complies, the Clerk’s Office will process the case under its procedures; if he does not comply within the allowed time, the action will be dismissed.
Other Ruling
Chief 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 proceed without prepaying fees for an appeal. The order did not address the merits of Brewster’s claims. It also cautioned that certain dismissals of prisoner cases can count as strikes under 28 U.S.C. § 1915(g).
Read the full 3-page opinion on CourtListener, the free public archive maintained by the Free Law Project.