Hayes v. DuBois
- Vincent Briccetti
- 7:17-cv-06145
- U.S. District Court · Southern District of New York
- 1
In Hayes v. DuBois, Judge Briccetti directed judgment for defendants after Ralphie Hayes failed to update his address or file an amended complaint.
Ralphie Hayes and the defendants, including Orange County Sheriff Carl E. DuBois; the Clerk was directed to enter judgment and close the case.
What happened
In Hayes v. DuBois, the court had previously granted the defendants’ motion to dismiss and allowed Ralphie Hayes, who was representing himself, to file an amended complaint. The court also required him to keep his address current.
After Hayes was released to parole, he did not provide the court with a new address. He also did not file an amended complaint or ask for more time, despite a warning that the case could be treated as abandoned.
Judge Briccetti directed the Clerk to enter judgment for the defendants and close the case. He also denied Hayes permission to appeal without paying the filing fees, certifying that an appeal would not be taken in good faith.
The detailed version
- Hayes v. DuBois · No. 7:17-cv-06145
- Vincent Briccetti
- Dec. 11, 2019
Background
Ralphie Hayes sued Orange County Sheriff Carl E. DuBois and other defendants. On June 22, 2018, the court granted the defendants’ motion to dismiss and ordered Hayes, who was proceeding without a lawyer, to file an amended complaint by July 23, 2018. The court also reminded him that he had to update the court in writing if his address changed.
Hayes was released to parole on August 7, 2018, but did not update his address. On September 18, 2018, the court ordered him to provide his current address and file his amended complaint by October 18, 2018. The court warned that failure to do so would be treated as abandonment of the case and could lead to judgment for the defendants and closure of the case.
Ruling
The court stated that Hayes still had not updated his address, filed an amended complaint, or requested more time. Because the court had already dismissed all of Hayes’s claims, it directed the Clerk to enter judgment in the defendants’ favor and close the case. The court also certified under 28 U.S.C. § 1915(a)(3) that any appeal from the order would not be taken in good faith and denied permission to appeal without paying the filing fees. The order did not state that the judgment was with or without prejudice.
Read the full 1-page opinion on CourtListener, the free public archive maintained by the Free Law Project.