Pearson v. Ayola
- Laura Swain
- 1:24-cv-08693
- U.S. District Court · Southern District of New York
- 15
Pearson v. Ayola: Judge Wood granted Pearson 70 more days to amend his complaint and denied fee-free appeal status.
Robert Pearson, who received additional time to amend his complaint, and the defendants in the action, which remains subject to dismissal if Pearson does not file an amended complaint within the specified period.
What happened
In Robert Pearson v. Ayola, Police Officer for Middletown, et al., Robert Pearson, who is incarcerated and representing himself, asked for more time to file an amended complaint and for a copy of his original complaint. The court had previously dismissed his complaint for not stating a valid claim but allowed him 60 days to amend it.
The court granted Pearson’s request for more time. He must file an amended complaint within 70 days after the December 2, 2025 order, and the court said it would grant no further extensions. The court also attached a copy of his original complaint.
Judge Kimba M. Wood warned that failing to file on time will result in dismissal for failure to state a claim, for the reasons given in the earlier order. The court also denied Pearson permission to proceed without paying fees on any appeal, finding that an appeal would not be taken in good faith.
The detailed version
- Pearson v. Ayola · No. 1:24-cv-08693
- Laura Swain
- Dec. 2, 2025
Background
Robert Pearson is incarcerated at Wende Correctional Facility, is representing himself, and was proceeding without prepaying court fees. In an August 18, 2025 order, the court dismissed his complaint for failure to state a claim and gave him 60 days to file an amended complaint. Pearson later wrote to the court requesting an extension of time and a copy of his original complaint. He said that he lost his legal papers during a transfer between correctional facilities.
Court’s ruling
The court granted Pearson’s request for an extension of time. It ordered him to file an amended complaint within 70 days of the December 2 order and stated that no further extensions would be granted. The court said that if Pearson does not meet that deadline, the action will be dismissed for failure to state a claim, for the reasons stated in the August 18 order. The court also attached a copy of Pearson’s original complaint and an amended-complaint form.
Other disposition
Judge Kimba M. Wood certified under 28 U.S.C. § 1915(a)(3) that an appeal from the order would not be taken in good faith. The court therefore denied Pearson permission to proceed without prepaying fees for an appeal. This order did not decide whether Pearson’s underlying claims were legally valid; it addressed his requests for additional time and documents and set the consequences for failing to amend.
Read the full 15-page opinion on CourtListener, the free public archive maintained by the Free Law Project.