Sowell v. Kelly
- Colleen McMahon
- 1:20-cv-11049
- U.S. District Court · Southern District of New York
- 1
In Sowell v. Kelly, Judge McMahon dismissed Randy Sowell’s complaint without prejudice after he neither updated his prisoner authorization nor paid the required fee.
Randy Sowell’s complaint was dismissed without prejudice because he did not submit the required updated prisoner authorization or pay the $402 filing fee. The court also denied him permission to appeal without prepaying the required fees.
What happened
In Sowell v. Kelly, Randy Sowell was required to submit an updated prisoner authorization or pay the $402 filing fee for his civil action.
The court’s January 4, 2021 order gave him 30 days and warned that failing to comply would lead to dismissal. Sowell did neither.
Judge Colleen McMahon dismissed the complaint without prejudice. She also ruled that an appeal would not be taken in good faith and denied Sowell permission to appeal without prepaying the required fees.
The detailed version
- Sowell v. Kelly · No. 1:20-cv-11049
- Colleen McMahon
- Feb. 8, 2021
Background
On January 4, 2021, the court ordered Plaintiff Randy Sowell to submit an updated prisoner authorization or pay the $402 in fees required to file a civil action. The order warned that failure to comply within 30 days would result in dismissal of the complaint.
What Happened
Sowell did not file an updated prisoner authorization and did not pay the filing fee. The opinion cites 28 U.S.C. §§ 1914 and 1915.
Ruling
Judge Colleen McMahon dismissed the complaint without prejudice. This means the dismissal did not bar refiling based on the ruling stated in this order. The court also certified under 28 U.S.C. § 1915(a)(3) that any appeal would not be taken in good faith and denied permission to appeal without prepaying the required fees.
Read the full 1-page opinion on CourtListener, the free public archive maintained by the Free Law Project.