Brown v. Department of Corrections
- Colleen McMahon
- 1:20-cv-09407
- U.S. District Court · Southern District of New York
- 2
In Brown v. Department of Corrections, Judge McMahon dismissed Brown’s complaint without prejudice because he did not submit required fees or applications.
Deryck Brown’s complaint was dismissed without prejudice, and his request to proceed without paying fees for an appeal was denied. The Department of Corrections and the other defendants were affected by the dismissal of the complaint.
What happened
In Brown v. Department of Corrections, Deryck Brown was detained at the Vernon C. Bain Center. The court had ordered him to pay the required filing fees or submit an application to proceed without paying them, along with a prisoner authorization.
Brown did not comply with that order within the allowed time and did not contact the court again. The court therefore dismissed his complaint without prejudice, meaning the dismissal did not bar refiling.
Judge Colleen McMahon also ruled that any appeal would not be taken in good faith and denied Brown permission to proceed without paying fees for an appeal.
The detailed version
- Brown v. Department of Corrections · No. 1:20-cv-09407
- Colleen McMahon
- Jan. 20, 2021
Background
Deryck Brown, who was detained at the Vernon C. Bain Center, filed a complaint against the Department of Corrections and other defendants. The court had previously ordered him either to pay the $400 required filing fees or to submit a completed application to proceed without paying the fees, commonly called an IFP application, together with a prisoner authorization. The court warned that failure to comply within 30 days would result in dismissal.
Compliance and ruling
Brown did not comply with the order and did not initiate further contact with the court. The court dismissed his complaint without prejudice under 28 U.S.C. §§ 1914 and 1915. The order also directed the Clerk of Court to mail Brown a copy and record service on the docket.
Appeal status
Judge Colleen McMahon 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 Brown permission to proceed without paying fees for an appeal.
Read the full 2-page opinion on CourtListener, the free public archive maintained by the Free Law Project.