Washington v. Martuscello Jr.
- Nelson Roman
- 7:24-cv-03607
- U.S. District Court · Southern District of New York
- 2
In Washington v. Martuscello, Judge Swain ordered Omar Washington to pay filing fees or submit a valid authorization form within 30 days.
Omar Washington and the future processing of his civil action against Daniel F. Martuscello Jr. and the other defendants.
What happened
In Washington v. Martuscello, Omar Washington, who is incarcerated and representing himself, brought a civil action against Daniel F. Martuscello Jr. and others. He submitted an outdated form authorizing payments from his prison account.
The court ordered Washington, within 30 days, either to pay $405 in filing and administrative fees or submit the attached prisoner authorization form. That form would allow the court to collect the $350 filing fee in installments if Washington is allowed to proceed without paying fees upfront.
Judge Laura Taylor Swain ordered that no summons issue yet. If Washington complies, the Clerk’s Office will process the case; if he does not, the action will be dismissed. The court also denied permission to appeal without prepaying fees, finding that an appeal would not be taken in good faith.
The detailed version
- Washington v. Martuscello Jr. · No. 7:24-cv-03607
- Nelson Roman
- May 10, 2024
Background
Omar Washington, who is incarcerated at Sing Sing Correctional Facility, filed this civil action without a lawyer. To proceed, a prisoner must either pay the required fees or request permission to proceed without paying them upfront. Washington submitted a prisoner authorization form, but the court found that the form was outdated.
Court’s Order
The court gave Washington 30 days from the date 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, current prisoner authorization form labeled with docket number 24-CV-3607 (LTS).
If Washington is allowed to proceed without prepaying fees, the $350 filing fee must be collected in installments from his prison account. The authorization also directs the correctional facility to provide certified copies of his account statements for the previous six months. The $55 administrative fee does not apply to a person granted permission to proceed without prepaying fees.
Effect of the Order
No summons will issue at this time. If Washington complies with the order, the Clerk’s Office will process the case under its procedures. If he fails to comply within the allowed time, the action will be dismissed.
The court certified under 28 U.S.C. § 1915(a)(3) that any appeal from this order would not be taken in good faith and denied permission to appeal without prepaying fees. The court also cautioned that a later dismissal as frivolous or for failure to state a claim could count as a strike under 28 U.S.C. § 1915(g), and that three such strikes generally prevent a prisoner from proceeding without prepaying fees unless the prisoner faces imminent danger of serious physical injury.
Read the full 2-page opinion on CourtListener, the free public archive maintained by the Free Law Project.