Phillips v. United Food and Commercial Workers Union Local 2013
- Kenneth Karas
- 7:23-cv-08283
- U.S. District Court · Southern District of New York
- 2
In Phillips v. United Food and Commercial Workers Union Local 2013, Judge Swain gave Phillips 30 days to refile an amended complaint.
Clio Phillips, who may refile an amended complaint within 30 days; the defendants remain parties to the potentially reopened action.
What happened
Clio Phillips v. Leonard Russ involved Phillips’s pro se lawsuit against Leonard Russ, Linda Myers Russ doing business as Bayberry Care Center, and the United Food and Commercial Workers Union. The court had ordered Phillips to file an amended complaint and later gave her more time, but it did not receive one.
The court had dismissed the complaint for failure to state a claim for relief and lack of subject-matter jurisdiction. Phillips then said she had submitted an amended complaint that was never docketed. The Clerk’s Office found no record of receiving it.
Judge Laura Taylor Swain granted Phillips 30 days to refile the amended complaint. If she does, the court will reopen the case and screen it under the federal statute governing lawsuits filed without paying filing fees; otherwise, the case will remain closed. The court also denied permission to appeal without paying fees.
The detailed version
- Phillips v. United Food and Commercial Workers Union Local 2013 · No. 7:23-cv-08283
- Kenneth Karas
- June 3, 2024
Background
Clio Phillips brought this action without a lawyer. On December 5, 2023, the court directed her to file an amended complaint within 60 days. On February 6, 2024, the court granted an additional 60-day extension. When the court did not receive an amended complaint, it dismissed the complaint for failure to state a claim on which relief could be granted and for lack of subject-matter jurisdiction.
On May 30, 2024, Phillips sent a letter stating that she had filed an amended complaint with the court’s Pro Se Intake Unit on April 8, 2024, but that it had not been docketed. The court confirmed with the Clerk’s Office that it had no amended complaint from Phillips and no record of receiving one on April 8.
Court’s ruling
Judge Laura Taylor Swain granted Phillips 30 days’ leave to refile the amended complaint. If Phillips files it within that period, the court will reopen the action and screen the amended complaint as required by the statute governing cases filed without paying filing fees, 28 U.S.C. § 1915(e)(2)(B). If she does not file it by the deadline, the action will remain closed.
The court also certified that any appeal from the order would not be taken in good faith and denied permission to appeal without paying filing fees. This order did not decide whether Phillips’s underlying claims were legally valid.
Read the full 2-page opinion on CourtListener, the free public archive maintained by the Free Law Project.