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S.D.N.Y.Procedural orderFiled Jan. 15, 2020

Rivera v. Metropolitan Transportation Authority

Judge
Colleen McMahon
Docket
1:19-cv-10037
Court
U.S. District Court · Southern District of New York
Pages
2
Civil Procedure
In one sentence

In Rivera v. Metropolitan Transportation Authority, Judge McMahon dismissed the complaint without prejudice after Rivera failed to submit required forms or pay filing fees.

Who this affects

Jose Rivera's complaint was dismissed without prejudice for failing to comply with the court's filing-fee and authorization order. The defendants were not subject to a decision on the merits.

What happened

In Rivera v. Metropolitan Transportation Authority, the court had ordered Jose Rivera to submit a signed request to proceed without prepaying filing fees and a prisoner authorization, or pay the required $400 filing fees.

Rivera did not comply within the required thirty days. The court therefore dismissed his complaint without prejudice. The order did not decide the underlying claims.

Judge Colleen McMahon also ruled that any appeal would not be taken in good faith and denied Rivera permission to proceed without paying fees for the appeal.

The detailed version

For law students, journalists, and other readers who want the full reasoning

Case
Rivera v. Metropolitan Transportation Authority · No. 1:19-cv-10037
Judge
Colleen McMahon
Date
Jan. 15, 2020

Background

On November 1, 2019, the court ordered Jose Rivera to do one of two things within thirty days: submit a completed and signed request to proceed in forma pauperis, meaning without prepaying the filing fee, together with prisoner authorization; or pay the $400 fees required to file a civil action. The order warned that failure to comply would result in dismissal. After a search of New York City Department of Correction records showed that Rivera was detained at a different facility, the Clerk remailed the November 1 order to him on December 10, 2019.

Ruling

The court found that Rivera had not complied with the November 1 order. It dismissed the complaint without prejudice under 28 U.S.C. §§ 1914 and 1915. The order did not address the merits of Rivera's claims against the defendants.

Appeal and Effect

The court certified that any appeal from the order would not be taken in good faith and denied in forma pauperis status for purposes of an appeal. The Clerk was directed to mail Rivera a copy of the order and record service on the docket. Judge Colleen McMahon signed the order on January 15, 2020.

The authoritative version

Read the full 2-page opinion on CourtListener, the free public archive maintained by the Free Law Project.

Open opinion PDF →
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