Marshall v. Lilley
- Colleen McMahon
- 1:19-cv-11829
- U.S. District Court · Southern District of New York
- 8
In Marshall v. Lilley, Judge Colleen McMahon granted Steven Marshall 30 more days to amend his complaint after finding it failed to state a claim.
Steven Marshall received an extension of time to amend his complaint; the defendants were not subjected to a merits ruling in this order.
What happened
In Marshall v. Lilley, Steven Marshall was incarcerated and representing himself. The court had previously found that his complaint did not state a claim for which relief could be granted, but allowed him to amend it. Marshall asked for more time because his access to the law library was limited.
The court granted Marshall’s request and directed him to file an amended complaint within 30 days of the order. It warned that failing to do so would result in dismissal of the complaint for failure to state a claim. The order does not describe or decide the underlying claims.
Judge Colleen McMahon also certified that an appeal would not be taken in good faith and denied permission to appeal without paying court fees. The order directed the Clerk to mail Marshall a copy and record service on the docket.
The detailed version
- Marshall v. Lilley · No. 1:19-cv-11829
- Colleen McMahon
- Apr. 23, 2020
Background
Steven Marshall, who was incarcerated at the time and proceeding without a lawyer, sued Lynn J. Lilley and other defendants. The opinion does not describe the substance of Marshall’s claims. On February 21, 2020, the court ruled that his complaint failed to state a claim on which relief could be granted. The court gave him permission to file an amended complaint to correct the deficiencies.
Marshall then requested an extension of time, stating that he had limited access to the law library. His request was docketed as ECF No. 8.
Ruling
The court granted Marshall’s request for an extension of time. It directed him to file an amended complaint within 30 days after April 23, 2020, and attached a prisoner complaint form for his convenience. The court warned that if he did not comply within that period, the complaint would be dismissed for failure to state a claim under 28 U.S.C. § 1915(e)(2)(B).
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 required court fees. The Clerk was directed to mail Marshall a copy of the order and note service on the docket.
Effect of the Order
This order granted additional time; it did not decide the merits of Marshall’s underlying claims or dismiss the complaint at that point. The opinion states that dismissal would follow if Marshall failed to file an amended complaint within the allowed time.
Read the full 8-page opinion on CourtListener, the free public archive maintained by the Free Law Project.