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S.D.N.Y.Procedural orderFiled Mar. 3, 2020

Christenson v. Davis

Judge
Colleen McMahon
Docket
1:20-cv-01827
Court
U.S. District Court · Southern District of New York
Pages
1
Civil ProcedurePro Se
In one sentence

In Christenson v. Davis, Chief Judge McMahon dismissed Mark C. Christenson’s action without prejudice because he lacked permission to file without paying the fee.

Who this affects

Mark C. Christenson’s action was dismissed without prejudice; the opinion does not describe the underlying claims against Jennifer Davis.

What happened

In Christenson v. Davis, Mark C. Christenson filed an action without a lawyer and without paying the filing fee.

An earlier court order barred him from filing new actions without paying the fee unless he first obtained the court’s permission. He had not requested or received that permission for this action.

Chief Judge Colleen McMahon dismissed the action without prejudice because Christenson did not comply with the earlier order. The court also denied him permission to appeal without paying the fee, finding that an appeal would not be taken in good faith.

The detailed version

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

Case
Christenson v. Davis · No. 1:20-cv-01827
Judge
Colleen McMahon
Date
Mar. 3, 2020

Background

Mark C. Christenson filed this action without a lawyer and without prepaying the filing fee. The opinion states that a June 20, 2018 order barred him from filing any new action without prepaying the fee unless he first obtained the court’s permission.

Reason for Dismissal

Christenson had not requested or received permission to file this action. The court therefore dismissed the action under 28 U.S.C. § 1651 for failure to comply with the earlier filing restriction. The dismissal was without prejudice.

Other Ruling

The court directed the Clerk of Court to mail Christenson a copy of the order and record service on the docket. Under 28 U.S.C. § 1915(a)(3), the court certified that an appeal would not be taken in good faith and denied permission to appeal without paying the filing fee.

The authoritative version

Read the full 1-page opinion on CourtListener, the free public archive maintained by the Free Law Project.

Open opinion PDF →
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