Pearson v. Brockett
- Laura Swain
- 1:24-cv-01510
- U.S. District Court · Southern District of New York
- 3
In Pearson v. Brockett, Judge Swain ordered Robert Pearson to pay filing fees or submit prisoner authorization within 30 days.
Robert Pearson, the incarcerated plaintiff proceeding without a lawyer, must either pay the required fees or submit the prisoner authorization within 30 days for the action to proceed.
What happened
Pearson v. Brockett is a civil action brought by Robert Pearson, who is incarcerated and proceeding without a lawyer. Pearson submitted an application to proceed without paying fees upfront, but he did not submit the required prisoner authorization.
The court ordered Pearson, within 30 days, either to pay $405 in fees or to complete and submit the prisoner authorization. That authorization would allow installment payments of the $350 filing fee from his prison account and provide certified account statements. The court said no summons would issue at that time and warned that the action will be dismissed if Pearson does not comply.
Judge Laura Taylor Swain also certified that any 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 decide the underlying claims.
The detailed version
- Pearson v. Brockett · No. 1:24-cv-01510
- Laura Swain
- Feb. 29, 2024
Background
Robert Pearson, who is incarcerated at Orange County Jail, brought this civil action without a lawyer. He submitted an application to proceed without prepaying filing fees, commonly called an application to proceed in forma pauperis, or IFP. He did not submit the separate prisoner authorization required for an incarcerated person seeking IFP status.
Court’s Order
The court explained that proceeding with a civil action generally requires payment of $405: a $350 filing fee and a $55 administrative fee. If a prisoner is allowed to proceed IFP, the $350 filing fee still must be paid in installments from the prisoner’s account under the Prison Litigation Reform Act. The prisoner authorization permits the facility to deduct those payments and requires certified copies of the prisoner’s account statements for the previous six months to be sent to the court. The $55 administrative fee does not apply to a person granted IFP status.
Within 30 days of the order, Pearson must either pay the $405 in fees or complete and submit the attached prisoner authorization, labeled with docket number 24-CV-1510 (LTS). No summons will issue at this time. If Pearson complies, the case will be processed under the Clerk’s Office procedures. If he does not comply within the permitted time, the action will be dismissed.
Appeal and Other Warnings
The court certified under 28 U.S.C. § 1915(a)(3) that an appeal from the order would not be taken in good faith and denied IFP status for purposes of an appeal. The attached authorization form also warned that certain dismissals of prisoner lawsuits may count as strikes under 28 U.S.C. § 1915(g), and that three strikes can limit a prisoner’s ability to file future federal civil actions without prepaying fees, subject to the statute’s imminent-danger exception.
Disposition
Judge Laura Taylor Swain issued an order directing Pearson to pay the required fees or submit the prisoner authorization within 30 days. The order did not address the merits of Pearson’s claims.
Read the full 3-page opinion on CourtListener, the free public archive maintained by the Free Law Project.