Harris v. Harris
- Colleen McMahon
- 1:19-cv-11658
- U.S. District Court · Southern District of New York
- 2
In Harris v. Harris, Chief Judge McMahon dismissed Laquan Devota Harris’s complaint after he failed to file the required amended complaint and denied appeal fee status.
Laquan Devota Harris’s complaint was dismissed, the other pending matters were terminated, and permission to proceed without prepaying the filing fee for an appeal was denied.
What happened
In Harris v. Harris, the court had ordered Laquan Devota Harris to file an amended complaint within 60 days. The order warned that failing to do so would lead to dismissal, but Harris did not file one.
The court dismissed the complaint for failure to state a claim for which relief could be granted. The court also directed the clerk to terminate all other pending matters.
Chief Judge McMahon certified that an appeal would not be taken in good faith and denied Harris permission to proceed without paying filing fees on appeal.
The detailed version
- Harris v. Harris · No. 1:19-cv-11658
- Colleen McMahon
- June 5, 2020
Background
By an order dated March 9, 2020, the court directed Plaintiff Laquan Devota Harris to file an amended complaint within 60 days. The order stated that failing to comply would result in dismissal. Harris did not file an amended complaint. A footnote states that the clerk mailed the March 9 order to the address Harris provided, but the mailing was returned on May 7, 2020, marked as refused.
Ruling
The court dismissed the complaint for failure to state a claim upon which relief may be granted, under 28 U.S.C. § 1915(e)(2)(B)(ii). The complaint had been filed without prepaying the filing fee under the statute allowing eligible litigants to proceed without that payment. The clerk was directed to mail the order to Harris, note service on the docket, and terminate all other pending matters.
Appeal-Related Ruling
Chief United States District Judge Colleen McMahon certified under 28 U.S.C. § 1915(a)(3) that any appeal from the order would not be taken in good faith. The court therefore denied permission to proceed without prepaying the filing fee for an appeal.
Read the full 2-page opinion on CourtListener, the free public archive maintained by the Free Law Project.