Lee v. Proland Management
- Laura Swain
- 1:22-cv-05763
- U.S. District Court · Southern District of New York
- 2
In Lee v. Proland Management, Judge Swain dismissed the action without prejudice because Young Yil Jo filed it in Kum Nam Lee’s name.
Kum Nam Lee’s purported action was dismissed without prejudice, while Young Yil Jo remained subject to restrictions requiring court permission for new filings and barring filings in another person’s name.
What happened
Lee v. Proland Management was submitted as a pro se case brought by Kum Nam Lee, but court records showed that Young Yil Jo had filed it. The court also noted that Jo had previously been barred from filing documents in another person’s name and from starting a new case without the court’s permission.
The court dismissed this action without prejudice to any future civil action Kum Nam Lee might bring. It confirmed that Jo’s filing restrictions remained in effect and warned that further filings in other people’s names could lead to additional restrictions or sanctions. The court also denied permission to appeal without paying filing fees because it certified that an appeal would not be taken in good faith.
Judge Laura Taylor Swain signed the order. The ruling did not address the underlying claims against Proland Management.
The detailed version
- Lee v. Proland Management · No. 1:22-cv-05763
- Laura Swain
- July 8, 2022
Background
The action was submitted as a pro se case—that is, a case filed without a lawyer—in the name of Kum Nam Lee. The court stated that its records showed the action had actually been filed by Young Yil Jo. The court also noted that Jo had previously been barred from filing documents in this court in another person’s name and from filing any new civil action or proceeding without first obtaining the court’s permission.
Ruling
Because the court found that Jo filed the action, it dismissed the action without prejudice to any civil action Kum Nam Lee might wish to bring in the future. The court stated that Jo’s existing filing injunctions remained in effect: Jo could not file a new civil action or proceeding in the court without first obtaining leave, and Jo could not file a document in the court in another person’s name.
The court further stated that it would continue to dismiss cases Jo filed in other people’s names, without prejudice to any case those people might later bring themselves. It warned that continued filings could result in additional restrictions and sanctions. The court 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 filing fees. The order did not decide the merits of any claim against Proland Management.
Effect
The dismissal ended this action, while leaving Kum Nam Lee free to bring a future civil action. The order preserved the restrictions on Young Yil Jo’s filings and directed the Clerk of Court to mail the order to both Kum Nam Lee and Young Yil Jo. Judge Laura Taylor Swain issued and signed the order.
Read the full 2-page opinion on CourtListener, the free public archive maintained by the Free Law Project.