Griffith v. Otis Bantum Correctional Center
- Laura Swain
- 1:24-cv-08318
- U.S. District Court · Southern District of New York
- 1
In Brandon L. Griffith v. City of New York, Judge Swain dismissed the complaint after Griffith failed to file the required amended complaint.
Brandon L. Griffith’s complaint was dismissed, and he was denied permission to appeal without prepaying the filing fee.
What happened
In Brandon L. Griffith v. City of New York, the court had ordered Griffith to file an amended complaint within 60 days and warned that failing to do so would lead to dismissal.
Griffith did not file an amended complaint. The court therefore dismissed the complaint under the federal law governing complaints filed without prepaying the filing fee and directed the clerk to enter judgment. It also denied Griffith permission to appeal without prepaying the fee.
Judge Laura Taylor Swain certified that an appeal would not be taken in good faith. The order’s stated basis was Griffith’s failure to comply with the deadline, rather than a decision on the underlying claims.
The detailed version
- Griffith v. Otis Bantum Correctional Center · No. 1:24-cv-08318
- Laura Swain
- May 1, 2025
Background
On January 13, 2025, the Court ordered Plaintiff Brandon L. Griffith to file an amended complaint within 60 days. The order warned that failure to comply would result in dismissal. The opinion states that Griffith did not file an amended complaint.
Ruling
The Court dismissed the complaint under 28 U.S.C. § 1915(e)(2)(B)(ii). The complaint had been filed without prepaying the filing fee under 28 U.S.C. § 1915(a)(1). The order does not state that the Court reached the merits of Griffith’s underlying claims.
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 appeal without prepaying the filing fee and directed the Clerk of Court to enter judgment.
Read the full 1-page opinion on CourtListener, the free public archive maintained by the Free Law Project.