Peguero v. Department of Corrections
- Colleen McMahon
- 1:20-cv-02693
- U.S. District Court · Southern District of New York
- 3
In Peguero v. Department of Corrections, Judge McMahon granted Peguero’s request to voluntarily dismiss his complaint without prejudice.
Christopher Peguero was affected by the voluntary dismissal, the cancellation of the filing fee, the suspension of previously authorized account deductions, and the denial of fee-free status for an appeal. The Department of Corrections was the named defendant.
What happened
Christopher Peguero brought this case while detained and initially without a lawyer. After Alexis Padilla entered an appearance for him, Padilla asked the court to dismiss the case without prejudice because counsel did not intend to pursue the claims under federal statutes.
The court granted Peguero’s request to withdraw the action under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 41(a). The complaint was voluntarily dismissed without prejudice, and the court directed that Peguero not be charged the filing fee or have previously authorized deductions from his prison account continued for this lawsuit.
Judge Colleen McMahon also granted Peguero permission to proceed without paying fees for the limited purpose of dismissing the complaint, but denied that status for an appeal after certifying that an appeal would not be taken in good faith.
The detailed version
- Peguero v. Department of Corrections · No. 1:20-cv-02693
- Colleen McMahon
- Apr. 29, 2020
Background
Christopher Peguero, who was detained at the Otis Bantum Correctional Center on Rikers Island, filed this action without a lawyer. On April 28, 2020, Alexis Padilla entered an appearance as Peguero’s attorney and submitted a letter asking the court to dismiss the complaint without prejudice under Rule 41(a) of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure. The letter stated that counsel did not intend to pursue Peguero’s claims under federal statutes.
Ruling
The court granted Peguero’s request to withdraw the action under Rule 41(a). The complaint was voluntarily dismissed without prejudice. The court directed the Clerk of Court not to charge Peguero the $350 filing fee for the action and directed the official responsible for his custody to suspend any previously authorized monetary deduction from his prison trust account for the lawsuit.
The court granted Peguero permission to proceed without paying fees under 28 U.S.C. § 1915(a)(1) for the limited purpose of dismissing the complaint without prejudice. It certified under § 1915(a)(3) that any appeal would not be taken in good faith and denied permission to proceed without paying fees for an appeal.
Effect of the Order
The opinion does not describe the underlying claims or decide their merits. The case was ended through Peguero’s requested voluntary dismissal, without prejudice.
Read the full 3-page opinion on CourtListener, the free public archive maintained by the Free Law Project.