Hussey v. AO, PO Michael Gabriele 3344
- Laura Swain
- 1:23-cv-04327
- U.S. District Court · Southern District of New York
- 3
Hussey v. AO: Judge Swain dismissed the duplicate complaint without prejudice, allowing related claims to continue in a pending case.
Yessuh Suhyes Hussey, whose duplicate lawsuit was dismissed without prejudice; his related claims may continue in the pending case identified by docket number 23-CV-2905 (PGG). The order also waived the filing fee for this action but denied fee-free status for an appeal.
What happened
In Hussey v. AO, Yessuh Suhyes Hussey, who was detained and representing himself, sued under a federal civil-rights law over events at a Manhattan Guitar Center on August 3, 2021.
The court found that the complaint repeated claims from an earlier related case, docket number 23-CV-2905. It dismissed this case without prejudice to pursuing the claims in that pending case, ordered that Hussey not be charged the filing fee for this lawsuit, and denied fee-free status for any appeal.
Judge Laura Taylor Swain also entered judgment and directed that any further filings about the Guitar Center incident be made only in the pending case. The court did not decide the underlying civil-rights claims.
The detailed version
- Hussey v. AO, PO Michael Gabriele 3344 · No. 1:23-cv-04327
- Laura Swain
- June 12, 2023
Background
Yessuh Suhyes Hussey brought this action under 42 U.S.C. § 1983, a federal law allowing claims for violations of constitutional rights by persons acting under state law. He represented himself. The complaint concerned events at a Guitar Center store in Manhattan on August 3, 2021. The case had originally been filed in the Eastern District of New York and was transferred to the Southern District of New York.
The court said Hussey had already submitted two substantially similar complaints arising from the same events. One related case, docket number 23-CV-2905 (PGG), remained pending before Judge Paul G. Gardephe. The court also noted that an earlier related action had been directed to proceed as an amended complaint in that case, while another duplicate action had been dismissed without prejudice.
Ruling
The court dismissed this complaint without prejudice to Hussey pursuing his claims in the pending case under docket number 23-CV-2905 (PGG). It concluded that the duplicate lawsuit served no useful purpose. The court did not reach the merits of the civil-rights claims.
The court noted that several defendants listed in this complaint were not named in the pending case, but the complaint did not explain what those defendants did or how they were personally involved in violating Hussey’s rights. It stated that Hussey could seek to assert claims against them in the pending case to the extent allowed by Rule 15 of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure. It directed that any further filings concerning the August 3, 2021, Guitar Center incident be filed only in that pending action.
Other orders and effect
The court directed the Clerk of Court not to charge Hussey the $350 filing fee for this action and directed that no money be deducted or held from his prison trust account for this lawsuit. It entered judgment in the case. The court also certified that an appeal would not be taken in good faith and denied fee-free status for purposes of an appeal. Judge Laura Taylor Swain signed the order.
Read the full 3-page opinion on CourtListener, the free public archive maintained by the Free Law Project.