Massey v. Sewell

Background

Tyrone Massey, proceeding without a lawyer, brought this action against Captain Sewell, #1716, and Captain Lee (Female). He alleged that the defendants denied him timely medical care while he was incarcerated at the Manhattan Detention Complex.

Massey missed numerous deadlines and did not appear at two conferences scheduled by Magistrate Judge Barbara Moses. The defendants moved to dismiss for failure to prosecute. Judge Moses later recommended dismissing the action without prejudice because Massey had not communicated about the case for nearly eight months.

Massey then told the court that he was again incarcerated at the Manhattan Detention Complex and that serious mental illness and drug use had caused him to neglect the case. He said he had begun receiving treatment and intended to continue litigating. The court initially declined to adopt the recommendation and gave him another opportunity to proceed. It ordered him to oppose the defendants’ pending motion to dismiss by November 27, 2019, if he intended to continue.

Ruling

The court received no further communication from Massey. Judge Valerie Caproni dismissed the case without prejudice under Rule 41(b) of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, based on the reasons stated in Judge Moses’s recommendation and Massey’s later failure to comply with the court’s order. “Without prejudice” means the order itself did not bar refiling.

The court directed the Clerk of Court to terminate all pending motions and deadlines and close the case. It also certified under 28 U.S.C. § 1915(a)(3) that any appeal would not be taken in good faith and therefore denied fee-free appeal status.