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S.D.N.Y.Procedural orderFiled Nov. 20, 2025

Smalls v. New York City Health + Hospitals

Judge
Laura Swain
Docket
1:25-cv-00775
Court
U.S. District Court · Southern District of New York
Pages
1
Civil Procedure
In one sentence

In Smalls v. New York City Health + Hospitals, Judge Wood dismissed the action and certified that any appeal would not be taken in good faith.

Who this affects

The action brought by Aaron Desmond Smalls against New York City Health + Hospitals was dismissed. The judgment also affects any appeal from that judgment by certifying that such an appeal would not be taken in good faith.

What happened

Aaron Desmond Smalls v. New York City Health + Hospitals ended with the court dismissing the action for the reasons given in an order dated November 19, 2025. The judgment itself does not describe those reasons.

The court also certified that an appeal from the judgment would not be taken in good faith, meaning the court determined that an appeal would not seek review of a nonfrivolous issue. The judgment does not explain the underlying claims or identify whether the dismissal reached their merits.

The judgment was entered on November 20, 2025, and was signed by United States District Judge Kimba M. Wood.

The detailed version

For law students, journalists, and other readers who want the full reasoning

Case
Smalls v. New York City Health + Hospitals · No. 1:25-cv-00775
Judge
Laura Swain
Date
Nov. 20, 2025

Disposition

The court dismissed the action. It stated that the dismissal was based on the reasons provided in the November 19, 2025, order, but that order is not included in the supplied opinion text.

Appeal Certification

Under 28 U.S.C. § 1915(a)(3), the court certified that any appeal from the judgment would not be taken in good faith. The judgment cites the rule that a person demonstrates good faith when seeking review of a nonfrivolous issue, meaning a genuine legal issue that is not frivolous.

Classification

This is classified as a procedural order because the supplied judgment dismisses the action without explaining the underlying legal basis or showing that the court decided the merits. The judgment does not provide enough information to determine why the action was dismissed.

The authoritative version

Read the full 1-page opinion on CourtListener, the free public archive maintained by the Free Law Project.

Open opinion PDF →
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