Covial v. Francillion
- Paul Engelmayer
- 1:24-cv-04817
- U.S. District Court · Southern District of New York
- 2
In Covial v. Francillion, Judge Engelmayer dismissed Brandon A. Covial’s case without prejudice because he failed to prosecute it.
Brandon A. Covial’s case was dismissed without prejudice. The order directed the clerk to close the case and mail the order to Covial; it did not decide the underlying claims against Marvin Francillion or the other defendants.
What happened
In Covial v. Francillion, Brandon A. Covial sued Marvin Francillion and others. Covial was representing himself.
The court ordered Covial to keep his address and electronic contact information current. After mailed filings were returned, a magistrate judge ordered him to update his address and sign a release. Covial did not comply with those orders or with a later order requiring him to explain why the case should not be dismissed.
Judge Engelmayer dismissed the case without prejudice under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 41(b) and the court’s inherent power because Covial failed to prosecute. The clerk was directed to close the case and mail the order to Covial.
The detailed version
- Covial v. Francillion · No. 1:24-cv-04817
- Paul Engelmayer
- May 5, 2025
Background
Brandon A. Covial filed the complaint on April 24, 2024, and proceeded without a lawyer. The court’s standing order required him to report changes to his address or electronic contact information. Several filings mailed to him were returned unopened and unclaimed.
On January 22, 2025, Magistrate Judge Willis ordered Covial to file a letter updating or correcting his address and to separately execute a Criminal Procedure Law § 160.50 release by February 21, 2025. On March 31, 2025, the court issued an order requiring Covial to explain why the action should not be dismissed for failing to comply with court orders. The opinion states that Covial was served with that order, but he did not comply with it, the standing order, or Judge Willis’s order. He also took no other action to move the case forward after the order to show cause.
Ruling
Judge Engelmayer dismissed the case without prejudice under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 41(b) and the court’s inherent power for failure to prosecute. A dismissal without prejudice does not bar refiling based solely on that dismissal. The clerk was directed to close the case and mail the order to Covial.
Classification
This is a procedural order because the court dismissed the case for failure to prosecute without deciding the underlying claims.
Potential Date Inconsistency
The opinion says in one passage that service of process was executed on April 1, 2024, while citing a docket entry dated April 1, 2025. The supplied case date and the order’s signature date are May 5, 2025.
Read the full 2-page opinion on CourtListener, the free public archive maintained by the Free Law Project.