Truell v. John/Jane Doe

Background

James Truell, who was detained on Rikers Island, was representing himself and had been allowed to proceed without paying filing fees upfront. The court’s docket listed three pending cases involving him: 19-CV-9688, 20-CV-0839, and 20-CV-0992.

Truell sent the court a letter saying that another Rikers detainee had submitted the complaints in 20-CV-0839 and 20-CV-0992 in his name without his knowledge or consent. He asked the court to close those cases and return $700 that he said had been deducted from his prisoner account.

Court’s analysis

The court treated Truell’s letter as a request for voluntary dismissal under Rule 41(a) of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure. Because Truell said he had not filed the two cases, the court granted the request.

The court found that Truell was entitled to return of $350, not $700. It determined that no filing-fee deductions had been made for 20-CV-0839 because Truell had not yet been granted permission to proceed without paying the fee in that case. The court found that $350 had been charged for 20-CV-0992, which Truell said he had not filed.

The court denied a refund connected to 19-CV-9688 because Truell did not appear to deny participating in that case. The court pointed to multiple letters submitted by Truell and members of his family in that matter as evidence that he knowingly participated in it.

Disposition

The complaints in 20-CV-0839 and 20-CV-0992 were voluntarily dismissed under Rule 41(a). The Clerk of Court was directed to mail the order to Truell at the Otis B. Bantam Center and note service on the docket. Truell was required to update his address with the court within 30 days, using the docket numbers for all three cases. After he confirmed that the Otis B. Bantam Center was his current mailing address, the Clerk was directed to issue and mail him a $350 check by certified mail.