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S.D.N.Y.Procedural orderFiled May 8, 2024

Pearson v. O.C.J. in Officers that works for O.C.J. in Wellpath Health Servies…

Full caption

Pearson v. O.C.J. in Officers that works for O.C.J. in Wellpath Health Servies of O.C.J.

Judge
Laura Swain
Docket
1:24-cv-03508
Court
U.S. District Court · Southern District of New York
Pages
5
Civil ProcedurePro Se
In one sentence

In Pearson v. O.C.J., Judge Swain ordered payment or IFP paperwork within 30 days and denied IFP status for an appeal.

Who this affects

Robert Pearson must either pay the required fees or submit the required fee-waiver application and prisoner authorization within 30 days; otherwise, the action will be dismissed.

What happened

Robert Pearson filed Pearson v. O.C.J. while incarcerated at Orange County Jail and represented himself. He submitted the complaint without paying the required fees and without a completed application to proceed without prepaying fees or the required prisoner authorization.

The court gave Pearson 30 days to either pay $405 in fees or submit the required application and authorization. The authorization would allow installment payments of the $350 filing fee from his account. The court also said that no summons would issue at that time and that the action would be dismissed if he did not comply.

The court denied permission to proceed without prepaying fees for any appeal and said an appeal from the order would not be taken in good faith. Judge Laura Taylor Swain did not decide the underlying claims.

The detailed version

For law students, journalists, and other readers who want the full reasoning

Case
Pearson v. O.C.J. in Officers that works for O.C.J. in Wellpath Health Servies… · No. 1:24-cv-03508
Judge
Laura Swain
Date
May 8, 2024

Background

Robert Pearson filed this civil action while incarcerated at Orange County Jail. The opinion states that he is proceeding without a lawyer. He submitted his complaint without paying the filing fees and without submitting a completed application to proceed without prepaying fees or a prisoner authorization.

Court’s Order

The court ordered Pearson, within 30 days of the order, to do one of two things:

1. Pay $405 in fees, consisting of a $350 filing fee and a $55 administrative fee; or 2. Submit the attached application to proceed without prepaying fees and the attached prisoner authorization, identified with docket number 24-CV-3508 (LTS).

The prisoner authorization would direct the facility holding Pearson to deduct the $350 filing fee from his account in installments and provide the court with certified account statements for the previous six months. The court explained that a person granted permission to proceed without prepaying fees still must pay the $350 filing fee in installments. The $55 administrative fee does not apply to a person granted that status.

Effect of Noncompliance

No summons would issue at that time. The court stated that, if Pearson complied with the order, the case would be processed under the Clerk’s Office procedures. If he failed to comply within the allowed time, the action would be dismissed. The opinion did not address the substance of Pearson’s claims.

Appeal

The court certified that any appeal from the order would not be taken in good faith and denied permission to proceed without prepaying fees for purposes of an appeal. Judge Laura Taylor Swain, Chief United States District Judge, signed the order.

The authoritative version

Read the full 5-page opinion on CourtListener, the free public archive maintained by the Free Law Project.

Open opinion PDF →
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