Crespo v. Neal
- Laura Swain
- 1:24-cv-02122
- U.S. District Court · Southern District of New York
- 5
In Crespo v. Neal, Chief Judge Swain ordered Crespo to pay filing fees or submit applications to proceed without prepayment.
Wilfredo Crespo must either pay the required fees or submit the specified application and prisoner authorization within 30 days; the case will be dismissed if he does not comply.
What happened
In Crespo v. Neal, Wilfredo Crespo filed a civil action without paying the required fees or submitting a completed application to proceed without prepayment and a prisoner authorization.
The court gave Crespo 30 days to either pay $405 in fees or submit the required forms. No summons will be issued yet, and the action will be processed under the Clerk’s Office procedures if he complies; if he does not, the action will be dismissed.
Chief Judge Laura Taylor Swain also ruled that an appeal from the order would not be taken in good faith and denied permission to proceed without prepaying appeal fees.
The detailed version
- Crespo v. Neal · No. 1:24-cv-02122
- Laura Swain
- Mar. 21, 2024
Background
Wilfredo Crespo filed a civil action against Messiah Neal and Orange County Jail. The order states that Crespo is incarcerated at Orange County Correctional Facility and is representing himself without a lawyer. He submitted the complaint without paying the required fees and without a completed application to proceed without prepayment of fees or a prisoner authorization.
Fees and required filings
The court explained that a prisoner must either pay $405—consisting of a $350 filing fee and a $55 administrative fee—or request permission to proceed without prepaying fees. A prisoner who receives that permission still must pay the $350 filing fee in installments deducted from the prison account. The prisoner authorization permits those deductions and requires submission of certified account statements for the preceding six months.
Within 30 days of the order, Crespo must either pay the $405 or submit the attached application and prisoner authorization, labeled with docket number 24-CV-2122 (LTS). No summons will be issued at this time. If Crespo 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.
Appeal determination and disposition
The court certified under 28 U.S.C. § 1915(a)(3) 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 addresses filing-fee and application requirements; it does not decide the claims against the defendants.
Read the full 5-page opinion on CourtListener, the free public archive maintained by the Free Law Project.