Kellier v. Billups
- Laura Swain
- 1:21-cv-03921
- U.S. District Court · Southern District of New York
- 1
In Kellier v. Billups, Judge Swain dismissed the complaint after Kellier failed to amend it and denied fee-free appeal status.
Joshua Kellier's complaint against Billups and the other defendants was dismissed, and Kellier was denied permission to appeal without prepaying the filing fee.
What happened
In Kellier v. Billups, Joshua Kellier was ordered to file an amended complaint, but he did not do so by the deadline.
The court had previously warned that failing to amend would lead to dismissal. Kellier instead filed an interlocutory appeal, which the Second Circuit dismissed as frivolous. The district court later gave him another 30 days to amend, but he still did not file an amended complaint.
Judge Laura Taylor Swain dismissed the complaint under the statute governing complaints filed without paying court fees. She also ruled that any appeal would not be taken in good faith and denied Kellier permission to appeal without paying the filing fee.
The detailed version
- Kellier v. Billups · No. 1:21-cv-03921
- Laura Swain
- Apr. 11, 2022
Background
The court had ordered Joshua Kellier on June 14, 2021, to file an amended complaint within 60 days. The order stated that failure to comply would result in dismissal. On July 14, 2021, Kellier filed a notice of interlocutory appeal instead. The Second Circuit dismissed that appeal as frivolous on January 13, 2022, in No. 21-1706.
On February 8, 2022, the district court gave Kellier 30 more days to file an amended complaint. The opinion states that he did not file one.
Ruling
The court dismissed the complaint under 28 U.S.C. § 1915(e)(2)(B)(ii). The complaint had been filed without prepaying the filing fee under the court's authorization for people unable to pay. The opinion does not specify whether the dismissal was with or without prejudice.
The court also 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 Kellier permission to appeal without prepaying the filing fee.
Read the full 1-page opinion on CourtListener, the free public archive maintained by the Free Law Project.