Frost v. NYPD

Background

Yvonne Frost, proceeding without a lawyer, sued the NYPD and other defendants. On November 21, 2019, the court allowed her to proceed without paying filing fees upfront. The opinion states that Frost had a history of filing frivolous and vexatious actions. In a prior related proceeding, the court had barred her from filing future civil actions without first obtaining permission to proceed without paying fees, but that bar did not apply to this action because Frost filed it before the bar was issued.

Court’s analysis

Under 28 U.S.C. § 1915(e)(2)(B), the court must dismiss a complaint filed by a person proceeding without paying fees if it is frivolous, malicious, fails to state a legally valid claim, or seeks money from a defendant protected from such relief. The court must also dismiss a case when it lacks authority to hear the dispute. Although courts must read self-represented complaints generously, the court found that Frost’s allegations were irrational and that there was no legal theory supporting her claims. It therefore dismissed the action as frivolous under § 1915(e)(2)(B)(i).

Amendment and ruling

Courts generally give a self-represented plaintiff an opportunity to amend a defective complaint, but the court said amendment was unnecessary when the defects could not be fixed. Judge Colleen McMahon declined to grant Frost leave to amend. The court dismissed Frost’s action as frivolous and certified under 28 U.S.C. § 1915(a)(3) that any appeal would not be taken in good faith. It therefore denied Frost permission to proceed without paying fees for an appeal.