Torres v. U.S. Department of Justice
- Laura Swain
- 1:23-cv-02974
- U.S. District Court · Southern District of New York
- 1
In Torres v. U.S. Department of Justice, Chief Judge Swain dismissed the duplicative action without prejudice and denied fee-free appeal status.
Wilfredo Torres, who represented himself and sought access to documents filed in his other pending suit.
What happened
Wilfredo Torres, representing himself, said restrictions prevented him from viewing documents he had filed in another pending suit. He asked the court for access to those documents.
The court directed the clerk to treat Torres’s complaint in this case as a motion in the other suit, identified by docket number 23-CV-0945. Because any relief was available, if at all, in that case, the court dismissed this action as duplicative without prejudice.
Chief Judge Laura Taylor Swain also ruled that an appeal would not be taken in good faith and denied Torres permission to appeal without paying filing fees. The court ordered judgment to be entered.
The detailed version
- Torres v. U.S. Department of Justice · No. 1:23-cv-02974
- Laura Swain
- Apr. 10, 2023
Background
Wilfredo Torres proceeded without a lawyer. He alleged that restrictions had been placed on access to documents he filed in a separate pending suit, identified by docket number 23-CV-0945. He sought access to view the documents filed in that action.
Court’s action
The court directed the clerk to file the document styled as a complaint in this case as a motion in the suit pending under docket number 23-CV-0945. The court concluded that relief was available, if at all, in that suit. It therefore dismissed this action as duplicative, without prejudice to Torres’s pursuing relief in the other suit.
Appeal and disposition
The court certified under 28 U.S.C. § 1915(a)(3) that any appeal from the order would not be taken in good faith. It therefore denied permission to appeal without paying filing fees. Chief Judge Laura Taylor Swain ordered judgment to be entered.
Read the full 1-page opinion on CourtListener, the free public archive maintained by the Free Law Project.