Rivera v. Merritt
- Laura Swain
- 1:24-cv-07882
- U.S. District Court · Southern District of New York
- 1
In Rivera v. Merritt, Judge Swain dismissed the action and denied fee-waiver status for an appeal.
Rebeca M. Rivera’s action was dismissed, and her permission to appeal without paying the required filing fees was denied. The judgment directly affects Rivera; the provided text does not describe any additional effect on Alenna Merritt.
What happened
Rebeca M. Rivera sued Alenna Merritt in the Southern District of New York. The judgment does not state the claims or the reason for dismissal, referring instead to an October 24, 2025, order.
The court entered judgment dismissing the action. It also certified that an appeal would not be taken in good faith and denied Rivera permission to appeal without paying the required filing fees.
Chief Judge Laura Taylor Swain signed the judgment on October 27, 2025. The opinion text provided does not explain the dismissal’s legal basis.
The detailed version
- Rivera v. Merritt · No. 1:24-cv-07882
- Laura Swain
- Oct. 27, 2025
Disposition
The court entered a civil judgment dismissing the action “for the reasons stated” in an October 24, 2025, order. That earlier order is not included in the provided text, so the basis for dismissal cannot be determined from this judgment alone.
Appeal and Filing Fees
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 Rivera permission to appeal without paying the required filing fees. The judgment cited Coppedge v. United States for the standard that an appellant shows good faith by seeking review of a nonfrivolous issue.
Result
The action was dismissed, and permission to appeal without paying the required filing fees was denied. The judgment was signed by Chief United States District Judge Laura Taylor Swain on October 27, 2025.
Read the full 1-page opinion on CourtListener, the free public archive maintained by the Free Law Project.