Mercado v. Haidome

Background

Christian Mercado, who the opinion says is incarcerated at Rikers Island—Otis Bantum Correctional Center, filed this civil action without a lawyer. He submitted his complaint without the required filing fees, a completed application to proceed without prepaying fees, or a prisoner authorization.

The court’s order

The court explained that a prisoner filing a civil action must either pay $405 in fees—$350 for the filing fee and $55 for the administrative fee—or submit the forms needed to request permission to proceed without prepaying fees. If that request is granted, the $350 filing fee must still be collected in installments from the prisoner’s account. The $55 administrative fee does not apply to a person granted permission to proceed without prepaying fees.

Within 30 days after the order, Mercado must either pay the $405 or submit the attached application and prisoner authorization, labeled with docket number 24-CV-2784 (LTS). The authorization permits the facility holding him to provide certified account statements and deduct the filing fee from his prison account in installments. The court directed that no summons issue at this time. If Mercado 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 effect

The order does not decide whether Mercado’s underlying claims against Haidome have merit. Judge Laura Taylor Swain certified that an appeal from the order would not be taken in good faith and denied permission to proceed without prepaying fees for an appeal. The court also cautioned that certain future dismissals of prisoner cases can count as “strikes” under federal law, potentially affecting eligibility to proceed without prepaying fees in later federal civil actions.