Bowens v. Russell
- Laura Swain
- 1:21-cv-08136
- U.S. District Court · Southern District of New York
- 2
In Bowens v. Russell, Judge Swain dismissed Bowens’s complaint for not filing an amended complaint and denied fee-free appeal status.
Russell Bowens, also identified as Nurideen Islam, and the defendants were affected: the complaint was dismissed, and Bowens was denied in forma pauperis status for an appeal.
What happened
Bowens v. Russell involved Russell Bowens, also identified as Nurideen Islam, and defendants Keith Russell, described in the caption as a former employee at New York Theological Seminary, and New York Theological Seminary. The opinion does not describe the underlying claims.
The court had ordered Bowens to file an amended complaint within 60 days and warned that failing to do so would result in dismissal. Bowens did not file the amended complaint.
The court dismissed the complaint under the statute governing certain cases filed without prepaying fees and denied fee-free status for an appeal, finding that an appeal would not be taken in good faith. Chief Judge Laura Taylor Swain also directed the Clerk to mail the order to Bowens.
The detailed version
- Bowens v. Russell · No. 1:21-cv-08136
- Laura Swain
- Feb. 10, 2022
Background
Russell Bowens, also identified as Nurideen Islam, sued Keith Russell, identified in the caption as a former employee at New York Theological Seminary, and New York Theological Seminary. The opinion does not describe the claims underlying the lawsuit.
The court had previously ordered Bowens to file an amended complaint within 60 days. That order stated that failing to comply would result in dismissal. A copy of the earlier order was initially returned because the apartment number was missing from Bowens’s address, but the court re-mailed it the next day to the complete address on file.
Ruling
Bowens did not file an amended complaint. The court therefore dismissed the complaint under 28 U.S.C. § 1915(e)(2)(B)(ii). The complaint had been filed in forma pauperis, meaning without prepaying the filing fees.
The court certified under 28 U.S.C. § 1915(a)(3) that an appeal would not be taken in good faith and denied in forma pauperis status for purposes of an appeal. The Clerk was directed to mail Bowens a copy of the order and record service on the docket.
Disposition
The complaint was dismissed. The order does not state that the dismissal was with or without prejudice.
Read the full 2-page opinion on CourtListener, the free public archive maintained by the Free Law Project.