Nova v. Martuscelli
- Kenneth Karas
- 7:24-cv-01574
- U.S. District Court · Southern District of New York
- 2
In Nova v. Martuscelli, Judge Swain ordered Julio Nova to pay fees or submit required forms within 30 days, or the action will be dismissed.
Julio Nova, an incarcerated plaintiff representing himself, must either pay the required fees or submit the required application and prisoner authorization within 30 days to avoid dismissal of the action.
What happened
In Nova v. Martuscelli, Julio Nova, who is incarcerated and representing himself, filed a civil action but did not provide the documents needed to proceed without paying fees. He submitted a prisoner authorization from a different court and did not submit an application to proceed without prepaying fees.
The court ordered Nova, within 30 days, either to pay $405 in fees or submit a signed application to proceed without prepaying fees and the correct prisoner authorization form. The court said no summons would issue at that time and warned that the action will be dismissed if he does not comply.
Judge Laura Taylor Swain also ruled that an appeal from the order would not be taken in good faith and denied permission to appeal without prepaying fees. The order did not decide the merits of Nova’s claims.
The detailed version
- Nova v. Martuscelli · No. 7:24-cv-01574
- Kenneth Karas
- Mar. 4, 2024
Background
Julio Nova, who is incarcerated at Upstate Correctional Facility, brought this civil action without a lawyer. The opinion does not address the substance of his claims.
A prisoner filing a civil action must either pay the required fees or ask to proceed without prepaying them. The total fee is $405: a $350 filing fee and a $55 administrative fee. If the court allows a prisoner to proceed without prepaying fees, the $350 filing fee is collected in installments from the prisoner’s account under the Prison Litigation Reform Act. The prisoner must submit a signed application and an authorization allowing those deductions, along with certified account statements for the previous six months.
Court’s Order
Nova submitted a prisoner authorization from a different court, but he did not submit an application to proceed without prepaying fees. The court ordered him, 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 form. The documents were to identify docket number 24-CV-01574 (LTS).
The court directed that no summons issue at that time. It stated that, if Nova complies, the case will be processed under the Clerk’s Office procedures. If he does not comply within the allowed time, the action will be dismissed. The court also cautioned that a later dismissal as frivolous or for failure to state a claim could count as a “strike” under the prisoner filing statute.
Ruling and Effect
Judge Laura Taylor Swain certified that any appeal from this order would not be taken in good faith and denied permission to appeal without prepaying fees. This order addressed filing-fee and authorization requirements; it did not resolve the underlying legal claims.
Read the full 2-page opinion on CourtListener, the free public archive maintained by the Free Law Project.