Pettus v. Police Commissioner
- Laura Swain
- 1:25-cv-03973
- U.S. District Court · Southern District of New York
- 1
In Pettus v. Police Commissioner, Judge Swain dismissed James Pettus’s action without prejudice because he had not obtained required permission.
James Pettus, whose action was dismissed without prejudice, and the defendants named in the action. The court also denied Pettus permission to appeal without paying fees.
What happened
In Pettus v. Police Commissioner, James Pettus filed a new civil action and asked to proceed without paying filing fees. The opinion says he was representing himself.
A 2005 court judgment barred Pettus from filing future civil actions in the Southern District of New York without first obtaining the court’s permission. Pettus did not seek that permission before filing this action.
The court dismissed the action without prejudice for violating the earlier filing restriction. Judge Swain also denied permission to appeal without paying fees, finding that an appeal would not be taken in good faith.
The detailed version
- Pettus v. Police Commissioner · No. 1:25-cv-03973
- Laura Swain
- May 13, 2025
Background
James Pettus filed a civil action against the Police Commissioner and other defendants. He was proceeding without a lawyer and sought permission to proceed without paying the filing fee.
The court explained that, in a February 4, 2005 judgment, Pettus had been barred from filing future civil actions in the Southern District of New York unless he first obtained permission from the court. The opinion also notes that an appeal from that earlier matter was dismissed as frivolous. Pettus did not seek permission before filing this new action.
Ruling
The court dismissed this action without prejudice under 28 U.S.C. § 1651 because Pettus failed to comply with the 2005 filing restriction. The court directed the Clerk of Court to enter a judgment dismissing the action.
The court separately certified under 28 U.S.C. § 1915(a)(3) that any appeal would not be taken in good faith. It therefore denied Pettus permission to appeal without paying the applicable fees. Judge Laura Taylor Swain did not decide the underlying claims against the defendants.
Read the full 1-page opinion on CourtListener, the free public archive maintained by the Free Law Project.