Shieh v. N.Y.C.H.A.
- Jesse Furman
- 1:19-cv-05306
- U.S. District Court · Southern District of New York
- 1
In Shieh v. N.Y.C.H.A., Judge Furman dismissed all claims without prejudice after Shieh again asked to end the case.
Wen Hwa Shieh’s claims against the New York City Housing Authority were dismissed without prejudice; the case was closed, and fee-free appeal status was denied.
What happened
In Shieh v. N.Y.C.H.A., Wen Hwa Shieh, who was representing himself, again asked the court to let him dismiss his case. He had made similar requests twice before.
The court treated his latest letter as a notice of dismissal under the voluntary-dismissal rule cited in the order. It dismissed all of his claims without prejudice and canceled all future conferences, including one scheduled for December 1, 2020.
Judge Jesse M. Furman also rejected Shieh’s complaints about unfairness and unequal treatment, explaining that civil litigants have no right to appointed counsel or a court-provided interpreter. The court denied fee-free appeal status, directed the clerk to close the case, and ordered that a copy be mailed to Shieh.
The detailed version
- Shieh v. N.Y.C.H.A. · No. 1:19-cv-05306
- Jesse Furman
- Nov. 16, 2020
Background
Wen Hwa Shieh, proceeding without counsel, sent the court a letter dated November 10, 2020, asking to dismiss his case. The order says this was his third request to end the litigation. On the two earlier occasions, the court had declined to dismiss the case while confirming that Shieh knowingly and voluntarily wanted to do so and was not acting because of a misunderstanding.
Ruling
The court treated Shieh’s latest letter as a notice of dismissal under the voluntary-dismissal provision of Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 41 cited in the order. It dismissed all of Shieh’s claims without prejudice. The order also canceled all future conferences, including the conference scheduled for December 1, 2020.
The court separately found no merit in Shieh’s complaints about unfairness and unequal treatment. It stated that there is no right to appointed counsel in civil cases and that the court may not hire an interpreter for parties in civil cases.
Other disposition
Judge Jesse M. Furman 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 fee-free status for an appeal, directed the clerk to close the case, and ordered that a copy of the order be mailed to Shieh.
Read the full 1-page opinion on CourtListener, the free public archive maintained by the Free Law Project.