Finnegan v. District of Columbia Superior Court
- Laura Swain
- 1:21-cv-10946
- U.S. District Court · Southern District of New York
- 2
In Finnegan v. District of Columbia Superior Court, Chief Judge Swain barred Finnegan from future IFP filings without first obtaining permission.
Sean Matthew Finnegan and his future attempts to file civil actions without prepaying filing fees in this court.
What happened
In Finnegan v. District of Columbia Superior Court, Sean Matthew Finnegan filed the case without a lawyer. The court had previously dismissed the action as frivolous and noted that several of his other cases had also been dismissed as frivolous.
The court had ordered Finnegan to explain, within 30 days, why he should not be barred from filing future civil actions without paying filing fees unless he first obtained permission. Finnegan did not submit the required declaration, so the court issued the bar order.
Chief Judge Laura Taylor Swain barred Finnegan from filing future civil actions in this court without paying filing fees unless he first obtains permission. Any request for permission must include the proposed complaint and a copy of the order; the court also closed this action and denied fee-waived status for an appeal.
The detailed version
- Finnegan v. District of Columbia Superior Court · No. 1:21-cv-10946
- Laura Swain
- Feb. 7, 2022
Background
Sean Matthew Finnegan filed the action without a lawyer. On January 3, 2022, the court dismissed the action as frivolous and noted that Finnegan had filed multiple other cases that were also dismissed as frivolous.
The court then ordered Finnegan to show cause, by declaration within 30 days, why he should not be barred from filing additional civil actions in the court without prepaying filing fees, unless he first obtained permission. Finnegan did not file the required declaration.
Ruling
The court issued a filing bar under 28 U.S.C. § 1651. Finnegan is barred from filing future civil actions without prepaying filing fees in the Southern District of New York unless he first obtains leave from the court. Any motion seeking leave must include a copy of the proposed complaint and a copy of the bar order, and must be filed with the court’s Pro Se Intake Unit. If Finnegan files an action without first seeking leave, the action will be dismissed for violating the order.
The court directed the Clerk of Court to close the action and mail Finnegan a copy of the order. Chief Judge Laura Taylor Swain also certified that an appeal would not be taken in good faith and denied Finnegan permission to appeal without prepaying the appellate filing fee.
Read the full 2-page opinion on CourtListener, the free public archive maintained by the Free Law Project.