Rivas v. Rikers Island
- Laura Swain
- 1:25-cv-04486
- U.S. District Court · Southern District of New York
- 2
Judge Swain dismissed Rivas v. Rikers Island without prejudice because Rivas did not update his address or contact the court.
Christopher Rivas’s action was dismissed without prejudice for failing to update his address or communicate with the court. Rivas may file a new civil action, but fee-free status was denied for any appeal. Rikers Island was the named defendant.
What happened
In Rivas v. Rikers Island, the court ordered Christopher Rivas to explain why his case should not be dismissed after he failed to update his address as required by a court standing order.
Rivas did not update his address or otherwise communicate with the court. The court dismissed the action under Rule 41(b) for failing to follow the standing order, but said he could file a new civil action.
Judge Swain also denied fee-free status for any appeal after certifying that an appeal would not be taken in good faith, and directed the Clerk to enter judgment.
The detailed version
- Rivas v. Rikers Island · No. 1:25-cv-04486
- Laura Swain
- Aug. 7, 2025
Background
The court had previously ordered Christopher Rivas to show why his action should not be dismissed without prejudice. That order followed Rivas’s failure to update his address as required by the court’s March 18, 2024 Standing Order concerning self-represented litigants’ duty to keep address and electronic contact information current.
Ruling
Rivas did not update his address or otherwise communicate with the court. The court therefore dismissed the action under Rule 41(b) of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure for failure to comply with the March 18, 2024 Standing Order. The dismissal was without prejudice to Rivas’s filing a new civil action.
The court certified under 28 U.S.C. § 1915(a)(3) that any appeal would not be taken in good faith and denied fee-free status for purposes of an appeal. The court also directed the Clerk of Court to enter judgment. 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.