Smalls v. New York City Health + Hospitals
- Laura Swain
- 1:25-cv-00775
- U.S. District Court · Southern District of New York
- 1
In Smalls v. New York City Health + Hospitals, Judge Wood dismissed the complaint after Smalls failed to file an amended complaint.
Aaron Desmond Smalls, whose complaint was dismissed and whose permission to appeal without paying the filing fee was denied; New York City Health + Hospitals, which was named as the defendant.
What happened
Aaron Desmond Smalls sued New York City Health + Hospitals. The court had previously given Smalls 60 days to file an amended complaint and warned that failing to do so would lead to dismissal.
Smalls did not file an amended complaint. The court therefore dismissed the complaint, which had been filed without paying the filing fee, under the federal statute governing screening of such cases.
Judge Kimba M. Wood also denied Smalls permission to appeal without paying the filing fee, finding that an appeal would not be taken in good faith. The Clerk was directed to enter judgment against Smalls.
The detailed version
- Smalls v. New York City Health + Hospitals · No. 1:25-cv-00775
- Laura Swain
- Nov. 19, 2025
Background
The court had previously granted Aaron Desmond Smalls 60 days to file an amended complaint. That earlier order stated that failure to comply would result in dismissal. Smalls did not file an amended complaint.
Ruling
The court dismissed the complaint under 28 U.S.C. § 1915(e)(2)(B)(ii). The opinion states that the complaint had been filed without paying the filing fee under the federal provision allowing a person to proceed without prepaying that fee.
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 Smalls permission to appeal without paying the filing fee. The court directed the Clerk of Court to enter judgment against Smalls.
Disposition
The complaint was dismissed, and judgment was ordered against the plaintiff. The opinion does not describe the allegations in the complaint or explain the underlying legal claims.
Read the full 1-page opinion on CourtListener, the free public archive maintained by the Free Law Project.