Johnson v. Onondaga County DDS-Es Fair Hearings - SP

Background

Robert W. Johnson filed this civil action without a lawyer and requested permission to proceed without paying the filing fee. The court treated him as appearing without a lawyer because he signed the complaint in the place designated for an unrepresented party, and the purported attorney who also signed the complaint was not admitted to the bar of the court or to any state bar in the Second Circuit.

In a prior related proceeding, the court had barred Johnson from filing future civil actions in that court without paying the filing fee unless he first obtained the court’s permission. The opinion states that the earlier order was dated July 10, 2020, and identifies that proceeding as No. 1:19-CV-7337. Johnson filed this action and requested permission to proceed without paying the fee, but he did not first request permission to file the action.

Ruling

The court dismissed this action without prejudice because Johnson failed to comply with the earlier filing restriction. It directed the clerk to enter judgment dismissing the action for that reason.

The court also certified under 28 U.S.C. § 1915(a)(3) that any appeal would not be taken in good faith. It therefore denied permission to proceed without paying the filing fee for purposes of an appeal.