Armstead v. Trump
- Laura Swain
- 1:22-cv-01498
- U.S. District Court · Southern District of New York
- 1
Armstead v. Trump: Judge Swain dismissed the action without prejudice because Armstead neither paid filing fees nor obtained required court permission.
Brenda C. Armstead's new civil action was dismissed without prejudice; the opinion also denied her permission to appeal without paying filing fees.
What happened
In Armstead v. Trump, Brenda C. Armstead filed a new case without a lawyer and did not pay the fees required to bring it. A prior court order required her to obtain permission before filing any new civil case without paying those fees.
Armstead had not asked for that permission before filing this case. The court dismissed the action without prejudice because she did not follow the earlier order.
Judge Swain also ruled that an appeal would not be taken in good faith and denied Armstead permission to appeal without paying fees. The clerk was directed to mail her the order and record that service on the docket.
The detailed version
- Armstead v. Trump · No. 1:22-cv-01498
- Laura Swain
- Mar. 9, 2022
Background
The opinion states that, in a prior related proceeding, the court barred Brenda C. Armstead from filing any new civil action in the Southern District of New York without paying filing fees unless she first obtained the court's permission. Armstead then filed this new action without a lawyer, did not pay the filing fees, and did not seek permission to file.
Ruling
The court dismissed this action without prejudice under 28 U.S.C. § 1651 because Armstead failed to comply with the earlier court order. The opinion does not address the underlying claims against Former President Donald J. Trump.
Appeal and service
The court certified under 28 U.S.C. § 1915(a)(3) that any appeal from the order would not be taken in good faith. It therefore denied Armstead permission to appeal without paying filing fees. The court directed the clerk to mail Armstead a copy of the order and note service on the docket.
Read the full 1-page opinion on CourtListener, the free public archive maintained by the Free Law Project.