Jackson v. Middletown N.Y. Police Dept.
- Laura Swain
- 1:23-cv-01595
- U.S. District Court · Southern District of New York
- 1
In Jackson v. Middletown N.Y. Police Dept., Judge Swain granted more time to amend the complaint but denied fee-free status for an appeal.
Jackson must file an amended complaint within 60 days or face possible dismissal if he cannot show good cause. His ability to appeal without paying the required fees was denied. The order also affects the defendants because the case remains subject to further pleading by Jackson rather than being dismissed by this order.
What happened
In Jackson v. Middletown N.Y. Police Dept., the court had previously ordered Jackson to file an amended complaint addressing problems in his original complaint. Jackson then asked for more time.
The court granted the extension and directed Jackson to file an amended complaint within 60 days of the order. It warned that the complaint would be dismissed if he did not comply and could not show a good reason for the failure.
Judge Laura Taylor Swain also ruled that any appeal would not be taken in good faith and denied Jackson permission to proceed without paying the appeal filing fees.
The detailed version
- Jackson v. Middletown N.Y. Police Dept. · No. 1:23-cv-01595
- Laura Swain
- July 17, 2023
Background
By an order dated May 4, 2023, the court directed Jackson to file an amended complaint within 60 days to address deficiencies in his original pleading. On July 7, 2023, the court received Jackson's letter asking for an extension of time.
Ruling
The court granted the request for an extension. It directed Jackson to file an amended complaint within 60 days of the July 17 order. The court stated that if Jackson failed to comply within that period and could not show good cause—a legally sufficient reason—for the failure, the complaint would be dismissed.
The court also 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 Jackson permission to proceed without paying the required fees for an appeal. This order did not itself dismiss the complaint.
Judge
The order was signed by Laura Taylor Swain, Chief United States District Judge.
Read the full 1-page opinion on CourtListener, the free public archive maintained by the Free Law Project.