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S.D.N.Y.Procedural orderFiled Nov. 20, 2020

Renaud v. Trump

Judge
Colleen McMahon
Docket
1:20-cv-09386
Court
U.S. District Court · Southern District of New York
Pages
2
Civil ProcedurePro Se
In one sentence

In Renaud v. Trump, Judge McMahon administratively closed a duplicate case while the identical action proceeded.

Who this affects

Stephen-Philbert Renaud’s duplicate civil action was administratively closed; his other identical action was allowed to proceed.

What happened

In Renaud v. Trump, Stephen-Philbert Renaud, who was incarcerated and representing himself, submitted a petition that was docketed as two separate civil actions.

The court found the two petitions identical and determined that Case No. 20-CV-9386 had been opened by mistake. It ordered the clerk to administratively close that case, while Case No. 20-CV-9248 would proceed. The court also denied permission to appeal without paying filing fees.

Chief Judge Colleen McMahon issued the order on November 20, 2020, and directed the clerk to mail a copy to Renaud and record service on the docket.

The detailed version

For law students, journalists, and other readers who want the full reasoning

Case
Renaud v. Trump · No. 1:20-cv-09386
Judge
Colleen McMahon
Date
Nov. 20, 2020

Background

Stephen-Philbert Renaud, who was incarcerated at Green Haven Correctional Facility, brought the action without a lawyer. The court received one petition on November 2, 2020, but the petition was docketed twice and opened as two civil actions: No. 20-CV-9386 (CM) and No. 20-CV-9248 (CM).

Court’s Decision

After reviewing both petitions, the court concluded that they were identical and that No. 20-CV-9386 had been opened in error. The court ordered the clerk to administratively close No. 20-CV-9386. The court stated that Renaud’s other action, No. 20-CV-9248 (CM), would proceed.

The court also directed the clerk to mail Renaud a copy of the order and record service on the docket. Under 28 U.S.C. § 1915(a)(3), the court certified that an appeal would not be taken in good faith and denied permission to appeal without paying filing fees.

Effect of the Order

The order closed the duplicate civil action, No. 20-CV-9386 (CM), while leaving the identical action, No. 20-CV-9248 (CM), to proceed. Chief Judge Colleen McMahon signed the order.

The authoritative version

Read the full 2-page opinion on CourtListener, the free public archive maintained by the Free Law Project.

Open opinion PDF →
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