Smalls v. Fuchs
- Laura Swain
- 1:25-cv-00776
- U.S. District Court · Southern District of New York
- 1
Smalls v. Fuchs was dismissed, and Judge Swain denied fee-free appeal status because any appeal would not be in good faith.
The dismissal affected Aaron Desmond Smalls’s action against Alyssa Fuch and Cohen and Fitch. The ruling on fee-free appeal status affected Smalls’s ability to appeal without paying filing fees.
What happened
In Smalls v. Fuchs, the court dismissed Aaron Desmond Smalls’s action for the reasons given in an earlier March 13, 2025, order. The judgment does not state those reasons.
The court also ruled that any appeal would not be taken in good faith. It therefore denied Smalls permission to appeal without paying filing fees.
Judge Laura Taylor Swain entered the civil judgment on July 15, 2025. This opinion does not explain the basis for dismissing the action or identify the claims involved.
The detailed version
- Smalls v. Fuchs · No. 1:25-cv-00776
- Laura Swain
- July 15, 2025
Background
Aaron Desmond Smalls brought this action against Alyssa Fuch and Cohen and Fitch. The judgment refers to an earlier order dated March 13, 2025, but that order is not included in the provided opinion text.
Ruling
For the reasons stated in the March 13 order, the court dismissed the action. The provided judgment does not identify the claims, explain the dismissal’s legal basis, or state whether the court reached the merits.
The court certified under 28 U.S.C. § 1915(a)(3) that any appeal from the judgment would not be taken in good faith. It therefore denied fee-free status for purposes of an appeal. The judgment was signed by Chief United States District Judge Laura Taylor Swain and entered on July 15, 2025.
Read the full 1-page opinion on CourtListener, the free public archive maintained by the Free Law Project.