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S.D.N.Y.Procedural orderFiled Apr. 5, 2021

Cockburn v. District of Columbia

Judge
Colleen McMahon
Docket
1:21-cv-02888
Court
U.S. District Court · Southern District of New York
Pages
1
Civil ProcedurePro Se
In one sentence

In Cockburn v. District of Columbia, Judge Ramos directed the clerk to open a civil case and close the miscellaneous case because the complaint did not fit miscellaneous categories.

Who this affects

Wade R. Cockburn and the District of Columbia and other defendants were affected by moving the matter from a miscellaneous case into a new civil action; the order did not decide their underlying dispute.

What happened

Wade R. Cockburn, representing himself, brought an action against the District of Columbia and others. The opinion says the complaint did not fit any listed category of miscellaneous matters.

The court directed the clerk to open the matter as a new, unassigned civil action and to terminate any motions in the miscellaneous case.

Judge Edgardo Ramos also directed the clerk to administratively close the miscellaneous case; the order did not address the substance of Cockburn’s claims.

The detailed version

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

Case
Cockburn v. District of Columbia · No. 1:21-cv-02888
Judge
Colleen McMahon
Date
Apr. 5, 2021

Background

On March 2, 2021, Wade R. Cockburn, proceeding without a lawyer, brought an action against the District of Columbia and others. The court stated that the complaint did not fall into any listed category of miscellaneous matters.

Court’s action

The court directed the clerk to open the matter as a new, unassigned civil action. It also directed the clerk to terminate any motions and administratively close the miscellaneous case.

The order concerned the case’s administrative classification and docket handling. It did not decide the underlying claims or state whether any defendant was liable.

The authoritative version

Read the full 1-page opinion on CourtListener, the free public archive maintained by the Free Law Project.

Open opinion PDF →
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