Jean-Louis v. Mayor N.Y.C.

Background

Joe Jean-Louis brought this action against Mayor N.Y.C. while he was being treated at Kirby Forensic Psychiatric Center. He litigated without a lawyer. The court had first directed him to resubmit a complaint signature page and either pay $405 in filing fees or submit a completed application to proceed without paying those fees.

Jean-Louis submitted the fee-waiver application and a signed amended complaint. The court reviewed New York State court records showing that a criminal case against him remained pending and that, on March 9, 2023, the New York Supreme Court, New York County, ordered his temporary treatment or assessment in a mental hospital. Based on those records and the timing of the complaint’s mailing, the court determined that he was a “prisoner” under the Prison Litigation Reform Act (PLRA) when he filed the action.

Three-Strikes Filing Bar

The PLRA’s three-strikes provision, 28 U.S.C. § 1915(g), generally prevents a prisoner from proceeding without paying filing fees if, on three or more prior occasions while incarcerated or detained, the prisoner brought an action or appeal that was dismissed as frivolous, malicious, or for failure to state a claim. An exception applies if the prisoner was under an imminent danger of serious physical injury when the original complaint was filed.

The court determined that Jean-Louis had three qualifying prior dismissals and was therefore barred from proceeding without paying the filing fee unless the imminent-danger exception applied. The court found that neither his original complaint nor his amended complaint showed an imminent danger of serious physical injury at the time he filed the original complaint.

The complaints appeared to assert that the Mayor was negligent for failing to build underground nuclear fallout shelters, stockpile food, water, and medical supplies, and conduct emergency evacuation disaster drills. The court concluded that these allegations did not establish the required imminent danger.

Ruling

Judge Laura Taylor Swain denied Jean-Louis’s request to proceed without paying the filing fee and dismissed the action without prejudice under the PLRA’s three-strikes filing bar. The order states that Jean-Louis may start a new federal civil action by paying the required fees; any new prisoner civil-rights complaint would then be subject to the screening requirements of 28 U.S.C. § 1915A.

The court certified that any appeal from the order would not be taken in good faith and denied fee-free status for purposes of an appeal. It directed the clerk to enter judgment dismissing the action.