Fleming v. The City of New York
- Colleen McMahon
- 1:19-cv-10278
- U.S. District Court · Southern District of New York
- 2
Fleming v. The City of New York: Judge McMahon extended Fleming’s appeal deadline but denied fee-free appeal status.
Woodrow Fleming, who received 15 additional days to submit a notice of appeal but was denied fee-free status for an appeal from this order.
What happened
In Fleming v. The City of New York, Woodrow Fleming asked for more time to appeal after his complaint was dismissed because he did not submit an updated application to proceed without paying court fees.
Fleming filed his request and notice of appeal after the deadline, but within the period allowed for seeking an extension. He said his only income was from “DSS,” and the court found facts suggesting his updated application might have been approved if he had submitted it.
Judge Colleen McMahon granted the extension and directed Fleming to submit a notice of appeal within 15 days. The court also denied his request to proceed without paying fees for the appeal, finding that an appeal from this order would not be taken in good faith.
The detailed version
- Fleming v. The City of New York · No. 1:19-cv-10278
- Colleen McMahon
- Apr. 28, 2020
Background
Woodrow Fleming filed the action without a lawyer. On December 2, 2019, the court directed him to submit an updated application to proceed without paying court fees. After he failed to do so, the court dismissed the complaint on January 13, 2020, and the Clerk entered judgment on January 14, 2020.
The court later received Fleming’s motion for an extension of time to file a notice of appeal and his notice of appeal. The opinion does not state why Fleming failed to submit the updated application. In his motion, he said that his only income was from “DSS.”
Legal standard
In a civil case, a notice of appeal generally must be filed within 30 days after judgment is entered. Under Federal Rule of Appellate Procedure 4(a)(5)(A), a district court may extend that deadline when the motion is filed within 30 days after the appeal deadline expires and the party shows excusable neglect or good cause.
Ruling
The court found that Fleming filed his request for an extension within the required period. It also found that his statements suggested that the court might have approved his updated application to proceed without paying fees had he submitted it. The court therefore granted Fleming’s motion for an extension of time to file a notice of appeal.
The Clerk was directed to mail Fleming a copy of the order and record service on the docket. Fleming was directed to submit a notice of appeal within 15 days of the order’s date. The court certified that any appeal from this order would not be taken in good faith and denied fee-free status for purposes of an appeal.
Effect of the order
The order extended Fleming’s time to file a notice of appeal; it did not reconsider the earlier dismissal of the complaint. It also denied fee-free status for an appeal from this order. The opinion states that Fleming could move to withdraw his appeal and then seek to reopen the action with an updated application to proceed without paying court fees.
Read the full 2-page opinion on CourtListener, the free public archive maintained by the Free Law Project.