Ellis v. Sonko
- Kenneth Karas
- 7:21-cv-04766
- U.S. District Court · Southern District of New York
- 2
In Ellis v. Sonko, Judge Karas ordered Ellis to update his address or face dismissal for failing to pursue the case.
Anthony M. Ellis, who was ordered to update his address within 45 days; C.O. Sonko and Sgt. Montgomery were the named defendants.
What happened
Anthony M. Ellis filed this case without a lawyer while incarcerated at Downstate Correctional Facility. Mail from the court was returned as undeliverable after Ellis was paroled, according to a state corrections website.
The court ordered Ellis to update his address within 45 days. It did not dismiss the case at this stage, but stated that it would dismiss the action without prejudice for failure to pursue it if Ellis did not comply.
Judge Kenneth M. Karas also ruled that any appeal from the order would not be taken in good faith and denied Ellis permission to appeal without prepaying fees.
The detailed version
- Ellis v. Sonko · No. 7:21-cv-04766
- Kenneth Karas
- June 21, 2021
Background
Anthony M. Ellis filed a complaint without a lawyer while incarcerated at Downstate Correctional Facility. On June 3, 2021, the court allowed Ellis to proceed without prepaying filing fees. The court mailed that order to Downstate, but the mail was returned as undeliverable on June 16, 2021. The opinion states that, according to the New York State Department of Corrections and Community Supervision website, Ellis was paroled on May 27, 2021.
Order
The court explained that Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 41(b) allows a district court to dismiss an action for failure to prosecute after notifying the plaintiff that dismissal may occur. The court ordered Ellis to update his address of record within 45 days of the order. The court stated that if Ellis failed to comply, it would dismiss the action without prejudice for failure to prosecute. “Without prejudice” means the order would not bar refiling the matter, although the opinion does not state what additional requirements might apply.
The court directed the Clerk of Court to mail the order to Ellis and record service on the docket. A footnote stated that Ellis might not receive the order because he had not updated his address, and that responsibility for learning the case’s status remained with him.
Appeal-related ruling
The court certified under 28 U.S.C. § 1915(a)(3) that an appeal from the order would not be taken in good faith and denied Ellis permission to appeal without prepaying fees. The opinion is a conditional case-management order; it does not state that the action was dismissed.
Disposition
The court ordered Ellis to update his address within 45 days and stated that it would dismiss the action without prejudice if he did not do so. Judge Kenneth M. Karas signed the order.
Read the full 2-page opinion on CourtListener, the free public archive maintained by the Free Law Project.