Barber v. New York City Department of Corrections
- Laura Swain
- 1:21-cv-04706
- U.S. District Court · Southern District of New York
- 1
In Barber v. New York City Department of Corrections, Chief Judge Swain dismissed this duplicative action without prejudice.
Leonard Barber’s duplicative action against the New York City Department of Corrections and the other named defendants; his separate pending action under docket number 1:21-CV-4293 (LTS) was not dismissed by this order.
What happened
Leonard Barber, who was representing himself, filed Barber v. New York City Department of Corrections while held at the Anna M. Kross Center on Rikers Island.
The court said Barber had already filed a nearly identical complaint in a pending case, docket number 1:21-CV-4293 (LTS). Because the two actions raised the same claims, the court found no useful purpose in litigating both.
Chief Judge Laura Taylor Swain dismissed this action without prejudice to Barber’s pending case. She also denied permission to appeal without paying court fees, finding that any appeal would not be taken in good faith.
The detailed version
- Barber v. New York City Department of Corrections · No. 1:21-cv-04706
- Laura Swain
- May 27, 2021
Background
Leonard Barber brought this action without a lawyer while he was held at the Anna M. Kross Center on Rikers Island. The opinion states that he had previously submitted a nearly identical complaint in a pending action under docket number 1:21-CV-4293 (LTS).
Reason for Dismissal
The court determined that this action raised the same claims as Barber’s pending action. It concluded that litigating this duplicative action would serve no useful purpose. The opinion does not decide the underlying claims.
Disposition
Chief United States District Judge Laura Taylor Swain dismissed this action without prejudice to Barber’s pending action under docket number 1:21-CV-4293 (LTS). The court also certified under 28 U.S.C. § 1915(a)(3) that an appeal would not be taken in good faith and denied permission to appeal without paying court fees. The Clerk of Court was directed to mail Barber a copy of the order and record service on the docket.
Read the full 1-page opinion on CourtListener, the free public archive maintained by the Free Law Project.