Moodie v. Consolidated Edison Company of New York
- Laura Swain
- 1:23-cv-04970
- U.S. District Court · Southern District of New York
- 3
In Moodie v. Consolidated Edison, Judge Swain denied Moodie’s reconsideration motion after transferring her pro se action to the Eastern District of New York.
Donna Hope Moodie’s action was transferred to the Eastern District of New York, and her request to reconsider that transfer was denied. The action was closed in the Southern District of New York; the opinion also affected future filings in that action and any request for fee-free appeal status.
What happened
In Moodie v. Consolidated Edison Company of New York, the court had transferred Donna Hope Moodie’s pro se action to the Eastern District of New York under a federal venue statute. Moodie then filed a motion opposing the transfer.
The court treated Moodie’s filing as a request to reconsider the transfer. Reconsideration requires showing that the court overlooked controlling law or important facts already presented. The court found that Moodie had not made that showing and noted that she did not challenge the reasons given for the transfer.
The court denied the motion, closed the action in the Southern District of New York, and limited future filings in that action to documents directed to the Second Circuit. Judge Laura Taylor Swain also certified that an appeal would not be taken in good faith and denied fee-free appeal status.
The detailed version
- Moodie v. Consolidated Edison Company of New York · No. 1:23-cv-04970
- Laura Swain
- June 16, 2023
Background
Donna Hope Moodie filed a pro se action against Consolidated Edison Company of New York and other defendants. On June 15, 2023, the court transferred the action to the United States District Court for the Eastern District of New York under 28 U.S.C. § 1404(a), a statute concerning transfer of an action to another federal district. The court had made the transfer on its own motion.
Motion and standard
Moodie filed a motion opposing the transfer one day later. The court interpreted that filing as a motion for reconsideration under Local Civil Rule 6.3. Such a motion requires the party to show that the court overlooked controlling law or factual matters that had already been presented. The court explained that reconsideration motions are narrowly applied and are not an opportunity to repeat arguments, present new theories, or submit new evidence in response to the court’s ruling.
Ruling
The court found that Moodie had not shown that it overlooked controlling legal decisions or factual matters concerning the transfer. The court also stated that Moodie did not challenge the reasons for the transfer given in the June 15 order. Judge Laura Taylor Swain therefore denied Moodie’s motion.
Other orders
The court stated that the action was closed in the Southern District of New York. It directed the Clerk of Court to accept only documents in this action that were directed to the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit. It further stated that, if Moodie filed other documents that were frivolous or meritless, the court could require her to explain why she should not be barred from filing further documents in the action. The court certified that any appeal from the order would not be taken in good faith and denied fee-free appeal status for purposes of an appeal.
Read the full 3-page opinion on CourtListener, the free public archive maintained by the Free Law Project.