Onatolu v. Cash App
- Colleen McMahon
- 1:20-cv-06252
- U.S. District Court · Southern District of New York
- 1
In Onatolu v. Cash App, Judge McMahon dismissed the action without prejudice because Onatolu did not obtain required permission to proceed without fees.
Adekunle A. Onatolu’s case was dismissed without prejudice, and his request to proceed without paying the filing fee on appeal was denied.
What happened
In Onatolu v. Cash App, Adekunle A. Onatolu filed the case without a lawyer and asked to proceed without paying filing fees. A 2015 court order had barred him from filing new fee-free cases without first getting the court’s permission.
Onatolu attached documents concerning an appeal, including a request for more time and a request to proceed without fees on appeal. But he had not asked the court for permission to file this new action as required by the earlier order.
The court dismissed the action without prejudice for failing to follow the 2015 order. Judge Colleen McMahon also ruled that any appeal would not be taken in good faith and denied fee-free status for an appeal.
The detailed version
- Onatolu v. Cash App · No. 1:20-cv-06252
- Colleen McMahon
- Aug. 7, 2020
Background
Adekunle A. Onatolu filed this case without a lawyer and sought permission to proceed without paying the filing fee. The opinion states that, on July 9, 2015, Onatolu had been barred from filing any new action without paying the fee unless he first obtained permission from the court. The order refers to that earlier proceeding as Onatolu v. U.S. Army, ECF 1:15-CV-2829.
Onatolu attached to the complaint a notice of appeal, a motion for additional time to file a notice of appeal, and a motion to proceed without paying the fee on appeal. The opinion states that he had not sought the permission required by the 2015 order.
Ruling
The court dismissed this action without prejudice because Onatolu failed to comply with the July 9, 2015 order. “Without prejudice” means the dismissal itself does not bar refiling, although the opinion did not state what steps would be required for any new filing. The court also terminated all other matters and directed the Clerk of Court to mail the order to Onatolu and record service on the docket.
Chief Judge Colleen McMahon certified under 28 U.S.C. § 1915(a)(3) that an appeal from the order would not be taken in good faith. The court therefore denied permission to proceed without paying the filing fee for purposes of an appeal.
Read the full 1-page opinion on CourtListener, the free public archive maintained by the Free Law Project.