Sacchetti v. Dobbs Ferry Police Department
- Vincent Briccetti
- 7:22-cv-03793
- U.S. District Court · Southern District of New York
- 2
In Tobia Sacchetti v. Village of Dobbs Ferry, Judge Briccetti dismissed the case without prejudice because Sacchetti failed to update his address or amend his complaint.
Tobia Sacchetti’s case was dismissed without prejudice, ending this action based on his failure to comply with the court’s orders and maintain a current address. The Village of Dobbs Ferry and Agent (A) John #1 were not required to litigate the underlying claims in this order.
What happened
Tobia Sacchetti filed this case without a lawyer while indicating he was incarcerated at Westchester County Jail. The court allowed him to proceed without paying the filing fee.
The court directed the Village of Dobbs Ferry to identify the police officer initially listed as “John Doe.” After the Village identified the officer, the court ordered Sacchetti to file an amended complaint and provide his current address. Court mailings were returned, and Sacchetti did not file the amended complaint or update his address.
Judge Vincent L. Briccetti dismissed the case without prejudice under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 41(b). The court also denied fee-free status for any appeal and directed the Clerk to close the case.
The detailed version
- Sacchetti v. Dobbs Ferry Police Department · No. 7:22-cv-03793
- Vincent Briccetti
- Oct. 3, 2022
Background
Tobia Sacchetti commenced the action without a lawyer on May 6, 2022, indicating that he was incarcerated at Westchester County Jail. The court directed him either to pay the filing fee or apply to proceed without paying it. The court granted his application on July 18, 2022.
Orders and Returned Mail
On July 19, 2022, the court issued an order directing the Village of Dobbs Ferry to identify the police officer initially named as “John Doe.” The Village responded on August 18, 2022, identifying the officer and providing an address where he could be served.
The court then ordered Sacchetti to file an amended complaint and update the court in writing about his current address by September 18, 2022. The order warned that the case could be dismissed if he did not meet that deadline. Mailings to the address on the docket were returned as undeliverable, refused, or not known. Sacchetti did not file an amended complaint or notify the court of a new address. The court also stated that searches of the Westchester County Department of Correction and New York State Department of Corrections and Community Supervision inmate-lookup websites did not produce a result for him, so it could not determine his current address.
Ruling
After considering the factors identified in a cited Second Circuit decision, the court dismissed the case without prejudice under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 41(b). That rule permits dismissal when a plaintiff fails to comply with court orders or otherwise fails to move the case forward. The dismissal was based on Sacchetti’s failure to file the amended complaint and update his address, not on a decision about the underlying claims.
The court certified under 28 U.S.C. § 1915(a)(3) that an appeal would not be taken in good faith and denied fee-free status for purposes of an appeal. It directed the Clerk to close the case and stated that a copy of the order would be mailed to Sacchetti at the address on the docket.
Read the full 2-page opinion on CourtListener, the free public archive maintained by the Free Law Project.