Nimmons v. Department of Corrections
- Colleen McMahon
- 1:20-cv-10112
- U.S. District Court · Southern District of New York
- 2
In Nimmons v. Department of Corrections, Judge McMahon dismissed Allen Nimmons’s complaint without prejudice because he did not complete required filing steps or update his address.
The order dismissed Allen Nimmons’s complaint without prejudice because he did not complete the court’s filing-fee or fee-waiver requirements and did not update his mailing address. It also denied permission to proceed without paying fees for an appeal.
What happened
In Nimmons v. Department of Corrections, Allen Nimmons filed a civil complaint while detained at the Vernon C. Bain Center and sought permission to proceed without paying filing fees.
The court had ordered Nimmons either to pay the required $400 filing fees or submit an application to proceed without fees and a prisoner authorization. The order was returned because he was no longer at that facility, and he did not comply or provide a new address.
Judge Colleen McMahon dismissed the complaint without prejudice. She also denied permission to proceed without fees for any appeal, certifying that an appeal would not be taken in good faith.
The detailed version
- Nimmons v. Department of Corrections · No. 1:20-cv-10112
- Colleen McMahon
- Jan. 20, 2021
Background
Allen Nimmons filed a civil complaint while detained at the Vernon C. Bain Center. The opinion states that he filed the action without paying the filing fee under 28 U.S.C. § 1915(a)(1), which allows a person who meets the statutory requirements to proceed without prepaying court fees.
On December 3, 2020, the court ordered Nimmons to do one of two things within 30 days: pay the $400 required filing fees, or submit a completed application to proceed without paying those fees and a prisoner authorization. The order warned that the case would be dismissed if he did not comply.
Reasons for dismissal
The court received the December 3 order back on December 22, 2020. The envelope indicated that Nimmons was no longer held at the Vernon C. Bain Center. Nimmons did not comply with the order, did not notify the court of a change of mailing address, and did not otherwise contact the court.
Ruling
Judge Colleen McMahon dismissed Nimmons’s complaint without prejudice under 28 U.S.C. §§ 1914 and 1915. The opinion does not address the substance of Nimmons’s claims. The Clerk of Court was directed to mail the order to Nimmons at his last known address and record service on the docket.
The court also certified under 28 U.S.C. § 1915(a)(3) that any appeal would not be taken in good faith. As a result, permission to proceed without paying fees was denied for purposes of an appeal.
Read the full 2-page opinion on CourtListener, the free public archive maintained by the Free Law Project.