Murray v. Donald Trump Inc.
- Laura Swain
- 1:22-cv-07924
- U.S. District Court · Southern District of New York
- 2
In Murray v. Donald Trump Inc., Judge Swain dismissed a duplicate civil-rights lawsuit without prejudice and ordered that its filing fee not be charged.
Robert Lee Murray’s duplicate lawsuit was dismissed without prejudice to his pending case under docket number 22-CV-7743. The defendants remain identified in the dismissed action, and Murray was not charged the filing fee or required to fund it from his prison account.
What happened
Murray v. Donald Trump Inc. was brought by Robert Lee Murray, who was detained on Rikers Island and represented himself. He alleged under a federal civil-rights law that Donald Trump and other defendants violated his rights.
The court found that Murray had already filed a case involving the same facts and claims, which was still pending under docket number 22-CV-7743. It dismissed this duplicate lawsuit without prejudice to that pending case.
Chief Judge Laura Taylor Swain also directed the Clerk not to charge the filing fee or deduct money from Murray’s prison account for this lawsuit. She denied permission to appeal without paying court fees because the court determined that an appeal would not be taken in good faith.
The detailed version
- Murray v. Donald Trump Inc. · No. 1:22-cv-07924
- Laura Swain
- Sept. 16, 2022
Background
Robert Lee Murray, who was detained on Rikers Island and proceeded without a lawyer, sued Donald Trump Inc., John Doe Corporation, John Doe, and Donald Trump under 42 U.S.C. § 1983. He alleged that the defendants violated his rights. The opinion does not decide whether those allegations were legally valid.
Reason for Dismissal
The court determined that Murray had previously submitted a duplicate complaint against the defendants involving the same set of facts and claims. That earlier case was pending under docket number 22-CV-7743 (LTS). Because this action duplicated the pending case, the court concluded that litigating it would serve no useful purpose.
The court dismissed the complaint without prejudice to Murray’s pending case under docket number 22-CV-7743. The dismissal was based on duplication, not on a decision about the underlying civil-rights allegations.
Fees and Appeal
The court directed the Clerk of Court not to charge Murray the $350 filing fee for this action. It also directed that the official holding him not deduct or encumber money from his prison trust account for this lawsuit. The court certified that any appeal would not be taken in good faith and denied permission to appeal without paying the required fees. It directed that judgment be issued.
Disposition
The complaint was dismissed without prejudice as duplicative of docket number 22-CV-7743. The court also ordered that the filing fee not be charged.
Read the full 2-page opinion on CourtListener, the free public archive maintained by the Free Law Project.