Blanch v. Schiff
- Nelson Roman
- 7:18-cv-00838
- U.S. District Court · Southern District of New York
- 9
In Blanch v. Schiff, Judge Roman kept Isaiah Blanch’s case open, made the dismissal warning moot, and ordered a new complaint.
Isaiah Blanch and the named defendants, because the case was not dismissed for inactivity, Blanch was given an opportunity to file a complete Third Amended Complaint, and the defendants received a schedule for a possible motion to dismiss.
What happened
In Blanch v. Schiff, Isaiah Blanch, representing himself, responded to the court’s warning that his case might be dismissed because of inactivity. He said he had tried to contact the court and update his address.
The court considered Blanch’s self-represented and incarcerated status and found that he had shown enough reason not to dismiss the case for lack of prosecution. Blanch also sought to add Sullivan County and expand allegations about his existing claims.
Judge Nelson S. Roman ruled that the dismissal warning was moot and directed Blanch to file a complete Third Amended Complaint by January 3, 2020. The court also set deadlines for the defendants’ anticipated motion to dismiss and related briefing.
The detailed version
- Blanch v. Schiff · No. 7:18-cv-00838
- Nelson Roman
- Dec. 2, 2019
Background
Isaiah Blanch, proceeding without a lawyer, brought this civil-rights action under 42 U.S.C. § 1983. He filed an original complaint, an Amended Complaint, and then additional amended complaints. The court dismissed one Second Amended Complaint without prejudice because Blanch had not first obtained permission to amend. The court later granted permission to file a Second Amended Complaint, making the complaint at ECF No. 30 the operative complaint.
After more than a year without activity from Blanch, the court issued an Order to Show Cause requiring him to explain why the case should not be dismissed for failure to prosecute, meaning failure to move the case forward. Blanch responded that he had tried several times to contact the court, including to update his address, although the court had not received the correspondence. He also attempted to add Sullivan County as a defendant and to expand the factual allegations concerning his existing claims.
Ruling
Judge Nelson S. Roman found that Blanch had shown cause, considering his status as a self-represented and incarcerated litigant, and therefore would not dismiss the case for failure to prosecute. The court ordered that the September 30, 2019, Order to Show Cause was moot.
The court directed Blanch to file a Third Amended Complaint by January 3, 2020. That complaint had to completely replace, rather than supplement, the Second Amended Complaint and include all factual allegations supporting his claims. The court warned that piecemeal pleading was not permitted.
If Blanch did not timely amend, the Second Amended Complaint at ECF No. 30 would remain the operative complaint. The defendants were granted leave to file a motion to dismiss and serve it by January 31, 2020. The order set March 2, 2020, for Blanch’s opposition and March 17, 2020, for the defendants’ reply and filing of the motion papers. The Clerk was directed to mail the order to Blanch at the address on the docket and document service.
Read the full 9-page opinion on CourtListener, the free public archive maintained by the Free Law Project.