Best v. ACS
- Laura Swain
- 1:23-cv-03017
- U.S. District Court · Southern District of New York
- 2
In Best v. ACS, Judge Swain ordered Motisla Saholay Best to update her address within 30 days or face dismissal without prejudice.
Motisla Saholay Best and her action against ACS and the other named defendants; the action could be dismissed without prejudice if she does not update her address within 30 days.
What happened
In Best v. ACS, Motisla Saholay Best is representing herself without a lawyer. The court had allowed her to proceed without paying the filing fee, but the mailing containing that order was returned as undeliverable.
Best had not told the court that her address changed and had not contacted the court afterward. The court ordered her to update her address within 30 days of June 2, 2023.
If Best does not comply, the court will dismiss the action without prejudice for failure to prosecute. Judge Laura Taylor Swain also denied fee-free status for any appeal from this order, finding that such an appeal would not be taken in good faith.
The detailed version
- Best v. ACS · No. 1:23-cv-03017
- Laura Swain
- June 2, 2023
Background
Motisla Saholay Best is proceeding without a lawyer. On April 17, 2023, the court allowed her to proceed without paying the filing fee. The Clerk’s Office mailed that order to her on April 18, 2023, but the mailing was returned as undeliverable on May 31, 2023. Best had not notified the court of a change in her mailing address and had not had further contact with the court.
Court’s Order
The court explained that Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 41(b) allows a district court to dismiss an action for failure to prosecute after notifying the plaintiff. The court ordered Best to update her address of record within 30 days of June 2, 2023. The order states that, if she fails to comply, the court will dismiss the action without prejudice for failure to prosecute.
The court also certified under 28 U.S.C. § 1915(a)(3) that an appeal from this order would not be taken in good faith and denied fee-free status for purposes of an appeal. This order did not itself dismiss the action.
Read the full 2-page opinion on CourtListener, the free public archive maintained by the Free Law Project.