Fernandez v. Doe
- Vincent Briccetti
- 7:20-cv-10287
- U.S. District Court · Southern District of New York
- 2
Fernandez v. Badami: Judge Briccetti ordered address updates and attendance, warning that noncompliance would lead to dismissal.
Jesus Fernandez was required to update his address and attend a July 5, 2023 telephone conference. Maria Badami’s counsel was directed to attend, and the action faced possible dismissal if Fernandez did not comply.
What happened
In Jesus Fernandez v. Maria Badami, the court addressed Fernandez’s failure to update his mailing address and attend a scheduled telephone conference. Fernandez was representing himself, and court mail was returned after he was released from correctional facilities.
The court had repeatedly ordered Fernandez to report address changes and had warned that the case could be dismissed if he failed to do so. He did not provide a current address and did not attend the May 31, 2023, conference, although defense counsel said he had tried to contact him.
Judge Vincent L. Briccetti ordered Fernandez to update his address and attend a July 5 conference. The court warned that failing to do both would lead it to treat the case as abandoned and dismiss it for failure to prosecute and comply with court orders; it also denied fee-free appeal status.
The detailed version
- Fernandez v. Doe · No. 7:20-cv-10287
- Vincent Briccetti
- June 1, 2023
Background
Jesus Fernandez, who was proceeding without a lawyer, had listed Bare Hill Correctional Facility as his mailing address. The court mailed him an April 17, 2023 scheduling order for an initial pretrial conference, but the mailing was returned because Fernandez was no longer at Bare Hill and had been released from Orleans Correctional Facility on April 13, 2023.
On May 4, 2023, the court ordered Fernandez to notify it in writing of his current mailing address and warned that the case might be dismissed under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 41(b) if he failed to comply with court orders or failed to prosecute the case. The court also reminded him to attend the May 31 telephone conference. That order was returned as undeliverable as well. The opinion states that Fernandez had not provided a current address despite repeated orders and warnings.
The May 31 conference took place as scheduled, but Fernandez did not attend and gave no excuse or explanation. Defense counsel told the court that counsel had sent Fernandez a letter using an address obtained from the New York State Department of Corrections and Community Supervision and had spoken by telephone with someone who identified himself as Fernandez. Counsel said both communications reiterated Fernandez’s obligation to update his address and attend the conference.
Order
The court ordered Fernandez to provide his current address in writing by July 5, 2023. It also scheduled a telephone conference for July 5 at noon and directed Fernandez and defense counsel to attend.
The court warned that if Fernandez did not update his address in writing by July 5 and did not appear at that conference without an excuse or explanation, it would deem the action abandoned and dismiss it for failure to prosecute and comply with court orders under Rule 41(b). The order therefore warned of a possible future dismissal; it did not dismiss the action in this order.
Appeal-fee ruling
The court certified under 28 U.S.C. § 1915(a)(3) that an appeal from the order would not be taken in good faith and denied fee-free status for purposes of an appeal. The court directed its chambers to mail the order to an address in the Bronx that the Department of Corrections and Community Supervision had provided to defense counsel and that was believed to be Fernandez’s current address.
Read the full 2-page opinion on CourtListener, the free public archive maintained by the Free Law Project.