Pettus v. O'Hagan Wolfe
- Laura Swain
- 1:25-cv-05253
- U.S. District Court · Southern District of New York
- 2
In Pettus v. O’Hagan Wolfe, Judge Swain dismissed James Pettus’s action without prejudice because he filed without required court permission.
James Pettus’s action was dismissed without prejudice; the opinion does not describe the underlying claims.
What happened
Pettus v. O’Hagan Wolfe concerns James Pettus’s new civil action. The opinion says Pettus was proceeding without a lawyer and asked to proceed without paying the filing fee, but he had not requested the court’s permission required by a 2005 judgment.
The court dismissed the action without prejudice because Pettus failed to comply with that earlier filing restriction. It also directed the Clerk of Court to enter judgment. The court ruled that any appeal would not be taken in good faith and denied fee-free status for an appeal.
Chief Judge Laura Taylor Swain issued the order on June 26, 2025. The opinion does not decide the underlying claims against the defendants.
The detailed version
- Pettus v. O'Hagan Wolfe · No. 1:25-cv-05253
- Laura Swain
- June 26, 2025
Background
The opinion states that, in a 2005 judgment, the court barred James Pettus from filing future civil actions in the Southern District of New York unless he first obtained the court’s permission to file. Pettus then brought this new civil action against Catherine O’Hagan Wolfe, Jane, and John Doe. He was proceeding without a lawyer and sought permission to proceed without paying the filing fee, but he did not seek the required permission to file the action.
Ruling
Under 28 U.S.C. § 1651, the court dismissed the action without prejudice because Pettus failed to comply with the 2005 judgment. “Without prejudice” means the dismissal itself does not bar refiling, although the opinion says Pettus must comply with the earlier filing restriction. The court directed the Clerk of Court to enter judgment.
Appeal and scope
The court certified under 28 U.S.C. § 1915(a)(3) that any appeal from the order would not be taken in good faith. It therefore denied permission to proceed without paying the filing fee for purposes of an appeal. The order does not address the merits of Pettus’s underlying claims. Chief Judge Laura Taylor Swain signed the order.
Read the full 2-page opinion on CourtListener, the free public archive maintained by the Free Law Project.