Reshard v. City of New York Dept. of Correction
- Laura Swain
- 1:24-cv-02531
- U.S. District Court · Southern District of New York
- 4
In Reshard v. City of New York Dept. of Correction, Judge Swain ordered Kevin Reshard to pay fees or submit prisoner authorization within 30 days.
Kevin Reshard, an incarcerated plaintiff representing himself, must either pay the stated fees or submit the required prisoner authorization within 30 days to avoid dismissal of the action.
What happened
In Reshard v. City of New York Dept. of Correction, Kevin Reshard, who is incarcerated and representing himself, submitted an application to proceed without paying fees upfront but did not submit the required prisoner authorization.
The court gave Reshard 30 days to either pay $405 in fees or submit the authorization, which permits installment withdrawals from his account and provides account statements. No summons will issue yet, and the case will be processed if he complies; otherwise, the action will be dismissed.
Judge Laura Taylor Swain also denied permission to appeal without paying fees, finding that an appeal would not be taken in good faith. The order did not decide the underlying claims.
The detailed version
- Reshard v. City of New York Dept. of Correction · No. 1:24-cv-02531
- Laura Swain
- Apr. 8, 2024
Background
Kevin Reshard filed this civil action while incarcerated at Rikers Island E.M.T.C. and is representing himself. He submitted an application to proceed without prepaying fees, but he did not submit the separate prisoner authorization required for an incarcerated person seeking that status.
Court’s Order
The court explained that a prisoner may either pay $405 in fees—a $350 filing fee and a $55 administrative fee—or request permission to proceed without prepaying fees. If that request is granted, the Prison Litigation Reform Act requires collection of the $350 filing fee in installments from the prisoner’s account. The prisoner authorization directs the correctional facility to make those deductions and send the court certified account statements for the previous six months.
The court ordered Reshard, within 30 days of April 8, 2024, to do one of two things: pay the $405 in fees or complete and submit the attached prisoner authorization. The authorization must include docket number 24-CV-2531 (LTS).
Disposition and Effect
No summons will issue at this time. If Reshard complies, the case will be processed under the Clerk’s Office procedures. If he does not comply within the allowed period, the action will be dismissed. The court also 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 requirements and did not decide the merits of Reshard’s underlying claims.
Read the full 4-page opinion on CourtListener, the free public archive maintained by the Free Law Project.