Kelson v. Pitters
- Laura Swain
- 1:22-cv-09787
- U.S. District Court · Southern District of New York
- 1
In Kelson v. Pitters, Judge Swain dismissed Isaiah Kelson’s complaint without prejudice because he failed to submit the required signed application page.
Isaiah Kelson’s complaint against T. Pitters was dismissed without prejudice. The court also denied IFP status for purposes of an appeal.
What happened
In Kelson v. Pitters, Isaiah Kelson’s complaint named T. Pitters, identified as a correctional officer, as the defendant.
The court had ordered Kelson to submit an original signature page for his application to proceed without paying the filing fee. The order warned that failing to do so within 30 days would result in dismissal, but Kelson did not submit the signed page.
The court dismissed the complaint without prejudice, meaning the order did not state that refiling was barred. Judge Laura Taylor Swain also denied fee-waiver status for any appeal and directed the clerk to enter judgment.
The detailed version
- Kelson v. Pitters · No. 1:22-cv-09787
- Laura Swain
- Dec. 28, 2022
Background
The court had previously ordered Isaiah Kelson to resubmit the signature page of his application to proceed without paying the filing fee, commonly called an in forma pauperis or IFP application. The order required an original signature and gave Kelson 30 days to comply. It warned that failing to comply would result in dismissal of the complaint.
Kelson did not submit the signed signature page as directed.
Ruling
The court dismissed the complaint without prejudice under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 11(a). The opinion did not decide the underlying claims.
The court also certified under 28 U.S.C. § 1915(a)(3) that any appeal would not be taken in good faith and denied IFP status for purposes of an appeal. The clerk was directed to enter judgment in the case.
Read the full 1-page opinion on CourtListener, the free public archive maintained by the Free Law Project.