Milner v. The State of New York
- Colleen McMahon
- 1:19-cv-11854
- U.S. District Court · Southern District of New York
- 2
In Milner v. The State of New York, Judge McMahon denied Milner’s motion to reconsider dismissal of his complaint as frivolous.
John W. Milner’s request to undo the earlier dismissal was denied; the order also denied permission to appeal without paying court fees.
What happened
In John W. Milner v. The State of New York, et al., Milner, representing himself, challenged the court’s January 27, 2020 dismissal of his complaint as frivolous.
The court treated his letter as a request under Rule 60(b), which allows relief from a judgment or order for specified reasons. It found that he had not shown grounds for relief, including extraordinary circumstances.
Judge Colleen McMahon denied the motion for reconsideration. The court also denied permission to appeal without paying court fees, certifying that an appeal would not be taken in good faith.
The detailed version
- Milner v. The State of New York · No. 1:19-cv-11854
- Colleen McMahon
- Mar. 6, 2020
Background
John W. Milner filed the action without a lawyer. On January 27, 2020, the court dismissed his complaint as frivolous. The court later received Milner’s March 4, 2020 letter challenging that dismissal.
Motion and analysis
The court interpreted the letter as a motion under Rule 60(b) of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure. That rule permits a court to grant relief from a judgment or order for listed reasons, including mistake, newly discovered evidence, fraud or misconduct, a void judgment, satisfaction or reversal of the judgment, or other extraordinary reasons.
The court held that Milner had not alleged facts showing that any of the first five Rule 60(b) grounds applied. It also denied relief under Rule 60(b)(6), which applies for other reasons justifying relief, because Milner had not alleged facts demonstrating extraordinary circumstances warranting relief.
Ruling
The court denied Milner’s motion for reconsideration, identified as ECF No. 7. The Clerk of Court was directed to mail him a copy of the order and note service on the docket. 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 court fees.
Read the full 2-page opinion on CourtListener, the free public archive maintained by the Free Law Project.