Onatolu v. City Phelps
- Colleen McMahon
- 1:20-cv-07609
- U.S. District Court · Southern District of New York
- 1
In Onatolu v. City Phelps, Judge McMahon dismissed the action without prejudice because Onatolu filed without required court permission.
Adekunle A. Onatolu's action was dismissed without prejudice, and he was denied permission to proceed without paying fees on appeal.
What happened
In Onatolu v. City Phelps, Adekunle A. Onatolu filed a new case without a lawyer and asked to proceed without paying filing fees.
A 2015 court order barred Onatolu from filing new cases without paying fees unless he first obtained permission from the court. He asked to proceed without paying fees here but did not seek that permission.
Judge Colleen McMahon dismissed the action without prejudice for violating the 2015 order. She also denied permission to proceed without paying fees on appeal, finding that an appeal would not be taken in good faith.
The detailed version
- Onatolu v. City Phelps · No. 1:20-cv-07609
- Colleen McMahon
- Sept. 17, 2020
Background
Adekunle A. Onatolu filed this action without a lawyer and requested permission to proceed without paying the filing fee. The court stated that a July 9, 2015 order had barred him from filing any new action without paying the filing fee unless he first obtained permission from the court. Onatolu had not sought that permission before filing this action.
The opinion also notes that Onatolu attached a notice of appeal, a request for more time to file a notice of appeal, and a request to proceed without paying fees on appeal. Because there was no order in this action to appeal when he filed the complaint, the court did not address those documents at that point.
Ruling
Under 28 U.S.C. § 1651, the court dismissed the action without prejudice because Onatolu failed to comply with the 2015 order. The opinion does not decide the underlying claims.
The court also certified under 28 U.S.C. § 1915(a)(3) that an appeal would not be taken in good faith and denied permission to proceed without paying fees for purposes of an appeal. The order was signed by Chief United States District Judge Colleen McMahon.
Read the full 1-page opinion on CourtListener, the free public archive maintained by the Free Law Project.