Straw v. Dentons US LLP
- John Koeltl
- 1:20-cv-03312
- U.S. District Court · Southern District of New York
- 3
In Straw v. Dentons US LLP, Judge Stanton granted Straw’s reconsideration motion and ordered reassignment after he sought the judge’s removal.
Andrew U.D. Straw, whose reconsideration motion was granted and whose case was ordered reassigned; the defendants and the court’s other pending motions were also affected by the reassignment and termination of all other motions.
What happened
In Straw v. Dentons US LLP, the court addressed Andrew U.D. Straw’s request to remove the judge and revisit the earlier dismissal of his complaint.
Straw argued that the judge’s past service as a Marine Corps officer created a reason to reassign the case. The court treated his filing as a request for relief from the earlier order because he was representing himself.
Judge Louis L. Stanton granted Straw’s motion for reconsideration and directed that the case be reassigned through the court’s random selection process. The order also terminated all other motions.
The detailed version
- Straw v. Dentons US LLP · No. 1:20-cv-03312
- John Koeltl
- June 29, 2020
Background
The court had dismissed Andrew U.D. Straw’s complaint by an order dated June 11, 2020, under 28 U.S.C. § 1915(e)(2)(B). On the same day, Straw filed a motion titled “Motion to Remove Judge.” He later filed an affidavit under 28 U.S.C. § 144 asking that the judge be removed and the dismissal orders be stricken.
Straw stated that he had a right to change the judge once, but the court explained that this is true in some state courts, not in federal court. He also sought reassignment to a judge without a Marine Corps officer background, citing his belief that the Marine Corps had poisoned him and his mother and caused mental disabilities.
Court’s analysis
The court liberally construed Straw’s affidavit as a motion under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 60(b)(6). That rule allows relief from a judgment or order for an extraordinary reason that justifies relief. The court recognized that Straw was representing himself and described the situation as extraordinary. The opinion does not decide whether Straw’s underlying allegations were true or whether the original dismissal was legally correct.
Ruling
Judge Louis L. Stanton granted Straw’s motion for reconsideration. The court ordered that the case be reassigned to another judge through the court’s random selection process. The order also directed the clerk to mail Straw a copy and note service on the docket, and stated that the order terminated all other motions.
Read the full 3-page opinion on CourtListener, the free public archive maintained by the Free Law Project.