Hickman v. McDonnell
- Laura Swain
- 1:24-cv-02762
- U.S. District Court · Southern District of New York
- 4
In Hickman v. McDonell, Chief Judge Swain ordered payment or an amended fee-waiver application within 30 days.
Quandel Hickman, the incarcerated plaintiff proceeding without a lawyer, must either pay the required fees or submit a complete amended application to proceed without prepaying fees.
What happened
In Hickman v. McDonell, Quandel Hickman, who is incarcerated and representing himself, filed a civil action and submitted a request to proceed without paying filing fees upfront. The court found that the request was incomplete because its second page was missing and it was unsigned.
The court ordered Hickman, within 30 days, either to pay the required $405 in fees or submit an amended application to proceed without prepaying fees. The court directed that any amended application identify docket number 24-CV-2762 (LTS). No summons will issue yet, and the action will be dismissed if Hickman does not comply.
Chief Judge Laura Taylor Swain also ruled that any appeal would not be taken in good faith and denied fee-waiver status for an appeal. The order did not decide the underlying claims.
The detailed version
- Hickman v. McDonnell · No. 1:24-cv-02762
- Laura Swain
- May 25, 2024
Background
Quandel Hickman filed a civil action against A.D.A. Abel McDonell and other defendants. The opinion states that Hickman is incarcerated at the Otis Bantum Correctional Center on Rikers Island and is proceeding without a lawyer. With his complaint, Hickman submitted a prisoner authorization form and an application to proceed without prepaying fees, commonly called an IFP application.
Fee requirement and incomplete application
The court explained that a prisoner filing a civil action must either pay $405 in fees—a $350 filing fee and a $55 administrative fee—or submit the required signed IFP application and prisoner authorization. Hickman's IFP application was incomplete: its second page was missing, so it lacked certain information and a signature.
Order
The court ordered Hickman, within 30 days of the order's date, either to pay the $405 fee or submit an amended IFP application. The amended application must be labeled with docket number 24-CV-2762 (LTS). No summons will issue at this time. The court stated that the action will be dismissed if Hickman does not comply within the allowed period.
Appeal and other warnings
Chief Judge Laura Taylor Swain certified under 28 U.S.C. § 1915(a)(3) that an appeal from the order would not be taken in good faith and denied IFP status for purposes of an appeal. The order also warned about the possible consequences under the prisoner “three strikes” provision if a federal civil action or appeal is later dismissed as frivolous, malicious, or for failure to state a claim. This order addressed filing-fee requirements and did not resolve the merits of Hickman's claims.
Read the full 4-page opinion on CourtListener, the free public archive maintained by the Free Law Project.