Zawadzki v. Dept. of Justice
- Laura Swain
- 1:22-cv-05767
- U.S. District Court · Southern District of New York
- 2
In Zawadzki v. Dept. of Justice, Judge Swain dismissed the action after finding Young Yil Jo filed it using Zawadzki’s name.
The action was dismissed as to the case presented in Zawadzki’s name. The dismissal was without prejudice to any case Kryst Zawadzki may bring, while Young Yil Jo remained subject to the court’s existing filing restrictions and warnings of possible additional sanctions.
What happened
In Zawadzki v. Dept. of Justice, the court received an action presented as if it had been brought by Kryst Zawadzki. Court records showed that Young Yil Jo had actually filed it using Zawadzki’s name.
The court said Jo was already barred from filing documents in another person’s name and from starting a new civil case in that court without permission. The opinion does not address the underlying claims against the Department of Justice.
Judge Laura Taylor Swain dismissed the action without prejudice to any case Zawadzki may bring. The court also said Jo’s existing filing restrictions remained in effect, warned that additional restrictions or penalties could follow, and denied permission to appeal without paying court costs.
The detailed version
- Zawadzki v. Dept. of Justice · No. 1:22-cv-05767
- Laura Swain
- July 7, 2022
Background
The court received the action on July 5, 2022, and it was presented as having been brought by Kryst Zawadzki. The court stated that court records showed the action was actually filed by Young Yil Jo. The opinion referred to earlier related proceedings in which the court had noted that Jo filed multiple lawsuits using Zawadzki’s name.
Filing restrictions
The court stated that Jo was barred from filing any document in the court in another person’s name. It also stated that Jo was barred from filing any new civil action or proceeding in the court without first obtaining the court’s permission. The court found that those restrictions applied because Jo had filed this action.
Disposition
The court dismissed the action without prejudice to any civil action that Kryst Zawadzki may wish to bring. The opinion did not decide the merits of any underlying claim against the Department of Justice. The court advised Jo that the existing filing injunctions remained in effect and warned that additional restrictions and sanctions could be imposed if he continued filing actions in other people’s names.
The court also certified under 28 U.S.C. § 1915(a)(3) that an appeal would not be taken in good faith and denied permission to appeal without paying court costs. The clerk was directed to mail the order to Jo and to the address for Zawadzki listed on the docket.
Read the full 2-page opinion on CourtListener, the free public archive maintained by the Free Law Project.