Oduka v. Davis
- Paul Engelmayer
- 1:25-cv-06875
- U.S. District Court · Southern District of New York
- 2
In Mezie Oduka v. Danisha Davis, Judge Swain granted Oduka 30 days to amend and denied permission to appeal without paying filing fees.
Mezie Oduka, who received 30 days to file an amended complaint and was denied fee-free status for any appeal from this order.
What happened
In Mezie Oduka v. Danisha Davis, Mezie Oduka asked for more time to file an amended complaint after his claims were separated from a case he had brought with Jimmy Avila. The court had previously set an August 24, 2025 deadline.
The court granted Oduka’s request and ordered him to file an amended complaint within 30 days of the order. If he does not file one or request another extension, the court will treat his original complaint as the operative pleading and proceed with the case.
Judge Laura Taylor Swain also ruled that any appeal from this order would not be taken in good faith and denied fee-free status for an appeal. The order does not decide the underlying claims.
The detailed version
- Oduka v. Davis · No. 1:25-cv-06875
- Paul Engelmayer
- Aug. 27, 2025
Background
Mezie Oduka originally filed an action with co-plaintiff Jimmy Avila. That action was assigned to District Judge Paul A. Engelmayer and referred to Magistrate Judge Katharine H. Parker. Magistrate Judge Parker allowed the plaintiffs to amend their complaint and directed them to file an amended complaint by August 24, 2025.
On August 19, 2025, Magistrate Judge Parker separated Oduka’s claims from Avila’s claims and directed the Clerk of Court to open Oduka’s claims as a new civil action. The new action received docket number 25-CV-6875 (LTS). On August 27, 2025, Oduka filed a letter requesting an extension of time to file an amended complaint.
Ruling
The court granted Oduka an extension of time and ordered him to file an amended complaint within 30 days of August 27, 2025. If he does not file an amended complaint by that deadline and does not request another extension, the court will treat his original complaint as the operative pleading and proceed accordingly.
The court also 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 Oduka permission to appeal without paying the filing fees. The order does not resolve the merits of Oduka’s claims.
Read the full 2-page opinion on CourtListener, the free public archive maintained by the Free Law Project.