Morales v. The Whole Entire New York Police Department
- Laura Swain
- 1:24-cv-04778
- U.S. District Court · Southern District of New York
- 2
Morales v. The Whole Entire New York Police Department: Chief Judge Swain entered judgment dismissing the action after no amended complaint was filed.
Elias Morales, whom the court understood to be the same person as “Enki Rodriguez/Morales”; the action against The Whole Entire New York Police Department and the other named defendants was dismissed.
What happened
In Morales v. The Whole Entire New York Police Department, Elias Morales brought the case without a lawyer and asked to proceed without paying court fees.
The court had dismissed the complaint for failing to state a claim and gave Morales 30 days to file an amended complaint. He did not file one, so the court directed the Clerk of Court to enter judgment dismissing the action. The court also denied fee-free status for any appeal, finding that an appeal would not be taken in good faith.
Chief United States District Judge Laura Taylor Swain issued the order on January 10, 2025. The order relied on the reasons in the court’s earlier dismissal order and did not add a prejudice designation.
The detailed version
- Morales v. The Whole Entire New York Police Department · No. 1:24-cv-04778
- Laura Swain
- Jan. 10, 2025
Background
Elias Morales brought this action without a lawyer and sought permission to proceed without paying court fees. The opinion states that the court understood Elias Morales and “Enki Rodriguez/Morales” to be the same person.
In an order dated October 25, 2024, and entered on the docket on October 30, 2024, the court dismissed the complaint for failure to state a claim on which relief could be granted under 28 U.S.C. § 1915(e)(2)(B)(i). The court gave Morales 30 days to file an amended complaint and stated that judgment would be entered if he did not do so.
Court’s Action
Morales did not file an amended complaint. The court therefore directed the Clerk of Court to enter judgment dismissing the action for the reasons stated in the earlier dismissal order. The order does not state that the dismissal was with or without prejudice.
The court also certified under 28 U.S.C. § 1915(a)(3) that any appeal from the order would not be taken in good faith and denied permission to proceed without paying court fees for purposes of an appeal. Chief United States District Judge Laura Taylor Swain signed the order.
Read the full 2-page opinion on CourtListener, the free public archive maintained by the Free Law Project.