Massey v. City of New York
- Andrew Carter
- 1:20-cv-07617
- U.S. District Court · Southern District of New York
- 2
In Massey v. City of New York, Judge Carter dismissed Massey’s case without prejudice for repeatedly failing to pursue it.
Tyrone H. Massey’s case was dismissed without prejudice; the City of New York and the other defendants were no longer required to defend the case in that proceeding.
What happened
In Massey v. City of New York, Tyrone H. Massey sued the City of New York and other defendants. Massey was representing himself. The case had been filed in September 2020.
The defendants and the court repeatedly sought a response from Massey. He did not respond to several letters, orders, an order asking him to explain why the defendants’ request should not be treated as unopposed, or the defendants’ motion to dismiss. The court also arranged for case documents to be sent to him and stayed the case while his evaluation was pending.
Judge Andrew L. Carter, Jr. dismissed the case without prejudice because Massey repeatedly failed to prosecute it, under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 41(b). The order did not decide the underlying claims. The clerk was directed to send Massey the order and terminate ECF No. 38.
The detailed version
- Massey v. City of New York · No. 1:20-cv-07617
- Andrew Carter
- Apr. 4, 2022
Background
Tyrone H. Massey, representing himself, brought this lawsuit against the City of New York and other defendants. He filed the case on September 15, 2020. The opinion does not describe the underlying claims.
Procedural history
The defendants first asked to hold a conference before filing a motion to dismiss. The court ordered Massey to respond, but he did not. The case was later stayed while a 730 evaluation was resolved. Massey told the court that his paperwork had been destroyed in a fire and asked for copies of documents from his cases. The court directed that documents in this case be sent to him and gave him additional deadlines to respond to the defendants’ request. The defendants filed proof that they had served him with the court’s order, but Massey again did not respond.
The court later ordered Massey to explain why the defendants’ request should not be treated as unopposed. He did not respond. The court then allowed the defendants to file a motion to dismiss. The defendants filed that motion on December 3, 2021, but Massey did not file an opposition. The defendants subsequently asked that his claims be treated as abandoned.
Ruling
The court dismissed the case without prejudice for failure to prosecute under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 41(b). Failure to prosecute means that a plaintiff has not continued pursuing the case. The court relied on Massey’s repeated failures to respond to the defendants’ letters and the court’s orders. The dismissal was not a decision on the merits of Massey’s underlying claims. Judge Andrew L. Carter, Jr. directed the clerk to serve Massey with the order and terminate ECF No. 38.
Read the full 2-page opinion on CourtListener, the free public archive maintained by the Free Law Project.