Buxbaum v. Sommer
- Laura Swain
- 1:24-cv-10080
- U.S. District Court · Southern District of New York
- 2
In Buxbaum v. Sommer, Judge Swain dismissed the duplicative action without prejudice and denied fee-free appeal status.
Michael Buxbaum's action against Adam Daniel Sommer and Cari Joy Sommer was dismissed without prejudice as duplicative. The court also denied fee-free status for an appeal.
What happened
Michael Buxbaum, representing himself, sued Adam Daniel Sommer and Cari Joy Sommer in Buxbaum v. Sommer. He invoked federal-question and diversity jurisdiction.
The court found that Buxbaum had already filed another action against the same defendants that appeared to raise the same claims. Because the claims were duplicated in two separate actions, the court dismissed this action without prejudice.
Chief Judge Laura Taylor Swain also denied fee-free status for an appeal after certifying that an appeal would not be taken in good faith. The court directed the Clerk of Court to enter judgment dismissing this action.
The detailed version
- Buxbaum v. Sommer · No. 1:24-cv-10080
- Laura Swain
- Jan. 9, 2025
Background
Michael Buxbaum, who was representing himself, brought this action against Adam Daniel Sommer and Cari Joy Sommer. The opinion states that Buxbaum invoked federal-question jurisdiction and diversity jurisdiction. Buxbaum had also filed an earlier related action in the same court against the same defendants. The court stated that the earlier action appeared to raise the same claims as this case; it identified that proceeding as No. 24-CV-9546 (JAV).
Reason for dismissal
The court concluded that litigating both actions would serve no useful purpose because they were duplicative. It therefore dismissed this action without prejudice as duplicative of the earlier related proceeding. The opinion does not decide the merits of Buxbaum's claims.
Ruling
Chief Judge Laura Taylor Swain ordered the dismissal without prejudice and directed the Clerk of Court to enter judgment dismissing the action. Under 28 U.S.C. § 1915(a)(3), the court certified that an appeal would not be taken in good faith and denied fee-free status for purposes of an appeal.
Read the full 2-page opinion on CourtListener, the free public archive maintained by the Free Law Project.