Cooper v. New York City Department of Corrections
- Colleen McMahon
- 1:19-cv-10218
- U.S. District Court · Southern District of New York
- 1
In Cooper v. New York City Department of Corrections, Judge McMahon dismissed Cooper’s complaint without prejudice after he did not pay fees or submit the required application.
Nasir Cooper, whose complaint was dismissed without prejudice and whose request to proceed without paying fees on appeal was denied.
What happened
In Cooper v. New York City Department of Corrections, the court ordered Nasir Cooper to either pay the required filing fees or submit an application to proceed without paying them.
The court’s order was returned as undeliverable. Cooper did not follow the court’s instruction, notify the court of a new mailing address, or contact the court again.
Judge Colleen McMahon dismissed Cooper’s complaint without prejudice. The court also denied him permission to proceed without paying fees for an appeal and found that any appeal would not be taken in good faith.
The detailed version
- Cooper v. New York City Department of Corrections · No. 1:19-cv-10218
- Colleen McMahon
- Dec. 5, 2019
Background
The court had previously directed Nasir Cooper to either pay the $400 filing fee required for a civil action or submit a completed application to proceed without paying the fee. The court’s November 5, 2019 order was returned on December 4, 2019, marked as being returned to the sender. Cooper did not comply with the court’s instruction, notify the court of a change of mailing address, or initiate further contact with the court.
Ruling
The court dismissed Cooper’s complaint without prejudice under the federal statutes governing filing fees and proceedings without prepaying fees. The order did not decide the underlying claims in the complaint. “Without prejudice” means the dismissal did not bar a later filing based on the complaint’s claims.
Appeal-related ruling
The court certified that any appeal from the order would not be taken in good faith and denied permission to proceed without paying fees for purposes of an appeal. The Clerk of Court was directed to mail Cooper a copy of the order and record service on the docket.
Read the full 1-page opinion on CourtListener, the free public archive maintained by the Free Law Project.