Viera v. DEA Special Agent Todd Riley
- Laura Swain
- 1:24-cv-01862
- U.S. District Court · Southern District of New York
- 3
In Viera v. United States, Judge Swain ordered prisoner Viera to pay fees or authorize installment withdrawals within 30 days.
Wigberto E. Viera, whose civil action cannot proceed unless he pays the required fees or submits the required prisoner authorization within 30 days; the facility holding him would handle account deductions if he submits the authorization.
What happened
In Viera v. United States, Wigberto E. Viera, who was incarcerated and without a lawyer, filed a civil action and submitted an application to proceed without paying fees upfront.
The court said Viera must, within 30 days, either pay $405 in fees or submit a signed authorization allowing prison-account withdrawals for the $350 filing fee. No summons will issue yet, and failure to comply will result in dismissal of the action.
Judge Laura Taylor Swain ordered the fee-related steps and denied permission to appeal without paying fees, finding that any appeal would not be taken in good faith.
The detailed version
- Viera v. DEA Special Agent Todd Riley · No. 1:24-cv-01862
- Laura Swain
- Mar. 14, 2024
Background
Wigberto E. Viera, who is incarcerated at FCI McKean and is proceeding without a lawyer, filed this civil action. He submitted an application to proceed without prepaying fees, commonly called an application to proceed in forma pauperis, but did not submit the required prisoner authorization.
Court’s Order
The court ordered Viera, within 30 days of the order, to do one of two things: pay $405 in fees, consisting of a $350 filing fee and a $55 administrative fee, or complete and submit the attached prisoner authorization. The authorization would direct the facility holding him to provide certified copies of his prison-account statements for the previous six months and deduct the $350 filing fee from his account in installments. The order notes that the $55 administrative fee does not apply to a person granted permission to proceed without prepaying fees.
The authorization must identify docket number 24-CV-1862 (LTS). No summons will issue at this time. If Viera 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.
Appeal and Classification
The court certified that any appeal from this order would not be taken in good faith and denied permission to appeal without prepaying fees. This order addresses filing-fee and case-processing requirements; it does not decide the merits of Viera’s underlying claims. It is therefore a procedural order.
Read the full 3-page opinion on CourtListener, the free public archive maintained by the Free Law Project.