Kellier v. Billups
- Laura Swain
- 1:21-cv-03921
- U.S. District Court · Southern District of New York
- 2
In Kellier v. Billups, Judge Swain granted Kellier more time to amend his complaint but denied fee-free appeal status.
Joshua Kellier, whose deadline to file an amended complaint was extended and whose permission to appeal without paying filing fees was denied.
What happened
In Kellier v. Billups, Joshua Kellier had been given time to file an amended complaint addressing problems in his original complaint. He did not file one and instead submitted a letter and two notices seeking an immediate appeal; the appeals court later dismissed that appeal.
The district court gave Kellier another 30 days to file the amended complaint. It warned that no further extensions would be granted and that the complaint would be dismissed if he did not meet the deadline without showing a sufficient reason.
Judge Laura Taylor Swain also ruled that any appeal from this order would not be taken in good faith and denied Kellier permission to appeal without paying filing fees. The order did not decide the underlying claims.
The detailed version
- Kellier v. Billups · No. 1:21-cv-03921
- Laura Swain
- Feb. 8, 2022
Background
On June 14, 2021, the Court gave Joshua Kellier permission to amend his complaint to address deficiencies in the original pleading. Kellier did not file an amended complaint. Instead, he filed a letter and two notices of interlocutory appeal on July 12 and July 14, 2021. The Court notes that the Court of Appeals dismissed that appeal on February 3, 2022, because it lacked an arguable basis in law or fact.
Court’s Order
The Court granted Kellier an extension of time to file the amended complaint described in the June 14 order. It directed him to file the amended complaint within 30 days of the February 8 order and stated that no further extensions would be granted. The Court also stated that, if Kellier failed to comply and could not show good cause—a sufficient reason excusing the failure—the complaint would be dismissed for failure to state a claim under 28 U.S.C. § 1915(e)(2)(B)(ii).
Appeal-Filing-Fee Ruling
The Court certified that any appeal from this order would not be taken in good faith and denied Kellier permission to appeal without paying the required filing fees. The Clerk was directed to mail Kellier a copy of the order and record service on the docket. The order did not resolve the merits of the underlying complaint.
Read the full 2-page opinion on CourtListener, the free public archive maintained by the Free Law Project.