Utah v. Starbucks Corporation

Background

Over three days in 2019, Paul Utah filed seven cases in the Southern District of New York without a lawyer. The court allowed him to proceed without paying the filing fee. It dismissed six of the cases as frivolous and denied him permission to amend because the problems in the complaints could not be fixed by amendment. The court also warned that, under 28 U.S.C. § 1651, it could bar him from filing a new complaint without prior permission if he continued abusing the privilege of proceeding without paying the filing fee.

Later filings

After those cases were closed, Paul Utah filed amended complaints in each of the six cases, sometimes filing multiple amended pleadings in the same case. The order lists cases involving Starbucks Corporation, Barnes & Noble, TD Bank, the State of Police of New York, the New York Police Department, and Shoprite Corporation.

Ruling

The court held that Paul Utah was not entitled to amend the pleadings because the cases had already been dismissed as frivolous and permission to amend had been denied. It stated that it would not review or otherwise respond to the new submissions. The court kept its earlier warning in effect.

The court directed the Clerk to mail the order to Paul Utah and docket it in all six listed cases. It stated that it would accept for filing only documents directed to the Second Circuit Court of Appeals. If Paul Utah filed frivolous or meritless documents in those cases, or filed new frivolous actions, the court said it would order him to show cause—meaning explain why a filing injunction should not be imposed. The court also certified that an appeal would not be taken in good faith and denied fee-free status for purposes of an appeal.