Smith v. Liodice
- Colleen McMahon
- 1:20-cv-06800
- U.S. District Court · Southern District of New York
- 2
In Smith v. Liodice, Judge McMahon treated Smith’s new complaint as an amended complaint in an earlier case and administratively closed this action.
Steven L. Smith, whose new complaint was treated as an amended complaint in the earlier action; the Clerk of Court; and the official holding Smith’s prison trust account.
What happened
In Smith v. Liodice, Steven L. Smith filed a new complaint while an earlier case involving the same events and claims was pending before Judge Philip Halpern. The new complaint followed an order requiring Smith to explain why that earlier case should not be dismissed for failure to prosecute.
The court directed the Clerk to docket the new complaint as an amended complaint in the earlier case and administratively close this action. Smith was not to be charged the $350 filing fee for this action, and any previously authorized deduction from his prison trust account for this lawsuit was to be suspended.
Judge Colleen McMahon also ruled that any appeal would not be taken in good faith and denied permission to appeal without paying the filing fee.
The detailed version
- Smith v. Liodice · No. 1:20-cv-06800
- Colleen McMahon
- Aug. 31, 2020
Background
Steven L. Smith, who was detained at the Berkshire County Jail and House of Correction and was representing himself, had an earlier case against Michele Liodice pending before Judge Philip Halpern. On August 5, 2020, Judge Halpern ordered Smith to explain by September 8, 2020, why that case should not be dismissed with prejudice for failure to prosecute under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 41(b).
Smith responded by filing a new complaint. The Clerk opened it as a new civil action and assigned it a new case number. Judge McMahon determined that the new complaint arose from the same events and asserted the same claims as the earlier case.
Ruling
The court liberally construed the new complaint as an amended complaint in the earlier action. It directed the Clerk to docket the complaint in the earlier case and administratively closed this action. The court also directed that Smith not be charged the $350 filing fee for this action and that the official holding his account suspend any previously authorized monetary deduction for this lawsuit.
The court certified under 28 U.S.C. § 1915(a)(3) that an appeal would not be taken in good faith and denied permission to appeal without paying the filing fee. The order also directed the Clerk to mail Smith a copy and note service on the docket.
Read the full 2-page opinion on CourtListener, the free public archive maintained by the Free Law Project.