Pedotti v. Grand Lodge of the State of New York

Background

Pedotti filed the action representing herself. On September 27, 2022, the court dismissed her complaint as frivolous. She later submitted multiple letters, motions, and a memorandum of law seeking to amend her complaint and obtain reconsideration or other relief.

The court liberally construed the submissions as requests under three provisions: Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 59(e), which allows a party to ask the court to alter or amend a judgment; Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 60(b), which allows relief from a judgment or order for specified reasons; and Local Civil Rule 6.3, which governs motions for reconsideration in the Southern District of New York.

Rule 59(e) and Local Rule 6.3

For both Rule 59(e) and Local Civil Rule 6.3, the court said Pedotti had to show that it had overlooked controlling law or factual matters previously presented. The court concluded that she had not made that showing and denied the motion under Rule 59(e) and the motion under Local Civil Rule 6.3.

Rule 60(b)

The court considered whether any of the grounds listed in Rule 60(b) justified relief, including mistake, newly discovered evidence, misconduct, a void judgment, or satisfaction or reversal of the judgment. It found that none of the first five grounds applied. The court also denied relief under Rule 60(b)(6), which covers other reasons justifying relief, because Pedotti had not shown the extraordinary circumstances required for that provision.

Warnings and disposition

The court stated that Pedotti had filed seven self-represented actions in the court since July 21, 2022, although the order lists six docket numbers. It said that prior warnings about nonmeritorious or frivolous litigation and improper email filing remained in effect. The court denied Pedotti’s motions to amend the complaint, reconsider the dismissal, and all other outstanding applications for relief. It directed the Clerk of Court to terminate the motion filed on October 18, 2022, and stated that the action was closed.

The court further directed that the Clerk accept only documents directed to the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit. If Pedotti filed other frivolous or meritless documents, the court said it would direct her to explain why she should not be barred from filing further documents in the action. The court certified that any appeal from the order would not be taken in good faith and denied permission to appeal without paying filing fees.