Wilson v. Figeroua
- Vincent Briccetti
- 7:19-cv-04537
- U.S. District Court · Southern District of New York
- 3
In Wilson v. Figueroa, Judge Briccetti dismissed the case with prejudice because Wilson failed to update his address or follow court orders.
Hasson K. Wilson’s case was dismissed with prejudice, and he was denied permission to appeal without prepaying the filing fees.
What happened
Hasson K. Wilson filed this case while incarcerated and without a lawyer. After he notified the court of address changes, mail about the case was returned as undeliverable with notes stating that he had been paroled or released.
The court ordered Wilson to provide his current address by two deadlines and warned that the case could be dismissed if he did not do so. Wilson did not update his address and had not communicated with the court since February 2020.
In Wilson v. Figueroa, Judge Vincent L. Briccetti concluded that Wilson had abandoned the case and dismissed it with prejudice for failing to pursue it and comply with court orders. The court also denied permission to appeal without paying filing fees.
The detailed version
- Wilson v. Figeroua · No. 7:19-cv-04537
- Vincent Briccetti
- Sept. 25, 2020
Background
Hasson K. Wilson filed the complaint dated April 29, 2019, while incarcerated at Fishkill Correctional Facility. He was proceeding without a lawyer and without prepaying the filing fee.
The court’s June 19, 2019 Order of Service told Wilson that he had to notify the court in writing if his address changed and warned that the case could be dismissed if he failed to do so. The court also mailed him instructions for people without attorneys and a blank change-of-address form containing the same warning.
Wilson later notified the court of addresses at Great Meadow Correctional Facility and Sing Sing Correctional Facility. In July 2020, however, two orders mailed to him were returned as undeliverable with the notation, “No longer here paroled/released.”
Address-update orders
On July 9, 2020, the court ordered Wilson to provide his current address in writing by August 10, 2020. The order warned, in bold and underlined text, that the case could be dismissed for failing to pursue it or comply with court orders. That mailing was also returned as undeliverable.
On August 12, 2020, the court extended the deadline to September 11, 2020. It again warned that the case would be dismissed if Wilson did not update his address. That mailing was returned as undeliverable on September 1, 2020. Wilson did not provide a written address update and had not communicated with the court since February 2020.
Ruling
Judge Vincent L. Briccetti stated that Wilson had abandoned the case. After considering the factors identified in Lucas v. Miles, the court dismissed the case with prejudice under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 41(b) for failure to prosecute or comply with court orders. “With prejudice” means the dismissal bars refiling the same case.
The clerk was directed to close the case. The court also certified under 28 U.S.C. § 1915(a)(3) that an appeal would not be taken in good faith and denied Wilson permission to appeal without prepaying the filing fees. The court directed that a copy of the order be mailed to Wilson at the address on the docket.
Read the full 3-page opinion on CourtListener, the free public archive maintained by the Free Law Project.