Christenson v. Kennedy
- Colleen McMahon
- 1:20-cv-06730
- U.S. District Court · Southern District of New York
- 1
In Christenson v. Kennedy, Judge McMahon dismissed the action without prejudice for violating a prior filing restriction and denied fee-free appeal status.
Mark C. Christenson's new action was dismissed without prejudice, and he was denied permission to appeal without paying filing fees. John Kennedy is the named defendant, but the order does not describe any specific effect on him.
What happened
In Christenson v. Kennedy, Mark C. Christenson filed a new case without paying the filing fee or asking for permission to proceed without paying it. The court assumed he wanted to proceed without paying the fee. A prior order had required him to obtain permission before filing any new case without paying the fee.
Because Christenson did not seek that permission, the court dismissed the action without prejudice for failing to follow the earlier order. The opinion does not address the underlying claims against John Kennedy.
Judge Colleen McMahon ordered the dismissal and directed the Clerk of Court to mail the order to Christenson. She also ruled that an appeal would not be taken in good faith and denied Christenson permission to appeal without paying the required fees.
The detailed version
- Christenson v. Kennedy · No. 1:20-cv-06730
- Colleen McMahon
- Aug. 25, 2020
Background
Mark C. Christenson filed this new case without paying the filing fees or requesting permission to proceed without paying them. The court treated the filing as an application to proceed without paying the fees. The opinion states that an earlier order had barred Christenson from filing any new action without paying fees unless he first obtained permission from the court. Christenson did not seek that permission.
Ruling
The court dismissed the action without prejudice under 28 U.S.C. § 1651 because Christenson failed to comply with the earlier order. “Without prejudice” means the dismissal itself does not bar a later filing, although the opinion does not describe what requirements would apply to any later filing. The order does not decide the underlying claims against John Kennedy.
Appeal and service
The court directed the Clerk of Court to mail a copy of the order to Christenson and record service on the docket. The court certified under 28 U.S.C. § 1915(a)(3) that any appeal would not be taken in good faith and denied permission to appeal without paying the filing fees.
Read the full 1-page opinion on CourtListener, the free public archive maintained by the Free Law Project.