Alexander v. Israel
- Laura Swain
- 1:23-cv-01798
- U.S. District Court · Southern District of New York
- 3
In Alexander v. Israel, Judge Swain dismissed the action without prejudice after finding Sean Finnegan filed it in Liam Alexander’s name despite a filing bar.
The dismissal affected the action filed in Liam Alexander’s name and Sean Finnegan’s attempt to proceed without paying the filing fee. The court did not decide the underlying claims against Wendy Israel, Blanca Guzmon, the New York City Department of Probation, or Annette Carchidi.
What happened
In Alexander v. Israel, the court found that Sean Finnegan had filed an action using Liam Alexander’s name and had sought permission to proceed without paying the filing fee in Alexander’s name.
The court said Finnegan was barred from filing a new action without court permission while seeking that fee waiver. It also said this was the seventh action it had received from Finnegan in Alexander’s name. The court did not decide the underlying claims against the defendants.
Judge Laura Taylor Swain dismissed the action without prejudice under the earlier filing bar. She also denied permission to appeal without paying the filing fee and directed the clerk to enter judgment.
The detailed version
- Alexander v. Israel · No. 1:23-cv-01798
- Laura Swain
- Mar. 2, 2023
Background
The court stated that Sean Finnegan, who was barred from filing a new action without court permission while seeking to proceed without paying the filing fee, filed and signed this action in the name of Liam Alexander. Finnegan submitted a fee-waiver application listing Alexander as the plaintiff.
The court said this was the seventh action it had received from Finnegan in Alexander’s name. In earlier related proceedings, the court had found that Finnegan was attempting to avoid the filing bar by using Alexander’s name. The court had previously compared addresses, handwriting, and claims in reaching that conclusion. The opinion states that Finnegan again filed an action in Alexander’s name here.
Ruling
The court dismissed the action without prejudice under the filing bar issued in No. 21-CV-10946 because Finnegan did not comply with the required prefiling injunction. “Without prejudice” means the dismissal itself does not bar a later filing, although the opinion does not describe what future filing, if any, would be permitted. The court did not reach the underlying claims.
The court also 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 the filing fee. It directed the clerk to enter judgment.
Read the full 3-page opinion on CourtListener, the free public archive maintained by the Free Law Project.