United States Second Circuit

Plaintiff-prisoner filed three separate actions against defendant prison officials, and though the district court initially granted plaintiff's motion to proceed in forma pauperis (IFP), the court later revoked his IFP status because he had received approximately $6,000 in past-due Social Security benefits that he had not reported to the court. Dismissal of plaintiff's complaints for failure to pay the required filing fees is vacated and these cases are remanded for further proceedings, where: 1) plaintiff's receipt of past-due Social Security benefits did not make him ineligible to proceed IFP, because the No Social Security Benefits for Prisoners Act barred him from accessing those benefits; 2) plaintiff's receipt of an additional $350 in his prisoner trust account after he filed his motions to proceed IFP also did not render him ineligible, because he complied with the statutory requirements when he spent those funds instead of applying them to filing fees; and 3) this appeal was timely.

Appellate Information

• Decided 03/20/2015
• Published 03/20/2015

Judges

Court

• United States Second Circuit

Counsel