Mallgren v. United States

Background

In an earlier round of this case, the court entered a filing injunction in 2016. The injunction barred Mallgren from filing any future civil action in the Southern District of New York without paying filing fees unless he first obtained the court’s permission. The earlier order imposed that restriction because of Mallgren’s history of litigation that the court described as frivolous, vexatious, or otherwise lacking merit in that court and other federal courts.

Mallgren filed this new action against the United States and American Doctors (Male). He did not pay the fees required to start the action and did not ask for permission to file it under the earlier injunction. The court therefore assumed that he sought to proceed without paying filing fees.

Ruling

The court dismissed the action without prejudice for failure to comply with the earlier filing injunction. This was a procedural dismissal based on Mallgren’s failure to obtain the required permission; the order did not address the merits of his claims.

The court also certified under 28 U.S.C. § 1915(a)(3) that any appeal would not be taken in good faith and denied permission to proceed without paying fees for purposes of an appeal. It directed the Clerk of Court to enter a civil judgment.