Hooks v. The City of New York
- Rearden
- 1:21-cv-10771
- U.S. District Court · Southern District of New York
- 2
In Hooks v. The City of New York, Judge Rearden accepted the voluntary dismissal and denied Adam Neal’s motion to dismiss as moot.
Wesley Alexander Hooks, the City of New York, the other listed defendants, and Adam Neal’s terminated motion to dismiss.
What happened
In Hooks v. The City of New York, Wesley Alexander Hooks filed a notice seeking voluntary dismissal under Rule 41 of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure. The filing identified the action against the City of New York and other defendants.
The court treated the notice as effective and directed the Clerk of Court to terminate the City, Police Officer Tara A. Convery, Ralph Garcia, Kenmore & Associates LP, Adam Neal, Jamie Niskanen-Singer, and The Legal Aid Society from the action. The court also noted that plaintiffs are generally bound by a voluntary-dismissal filing, including when they do not have a lawyer.
Judge Rearden denied Adam Neal’s motion to dismiss as moot because Neal had been terminated from the action, and directed the Clerk to terminate that motion. The Clerk was also directed to mail the order to Wesley Hooks and Adam Neal, both identified as representing themselves.
The detailed version
- Hooks v. The City of New York · No. 1:21-cv-10771
- Rearden
- July 18, 2023
Background
Wesley Alexander Hooks filed a notice seeking voluntary dismissal of the action under Rule 41(a) of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure. The opinion identifies the defendants as The City of New York, Police Officer Tara A. Convery, Ralph Garcia, Kenmore & Associates LP, Adam Neal, Jamie Niskanen-Singer, and The Legal Aid Society.
Court’s Action
The court stated that, ordinarily, a plaintiff’s notice of voluntary dismissal immediately closes the case and that plaintiffs generally are bound by such filings, including plaintiffs representing themselves. The Clerk of Court was directed to terminate all seven identified defendants from the action.
Because Adam Neal was terminated from the action, the court denied his motion to dismiss, docket entry 94, as moot. The Clerk was directed to terminate that motion as well. The Clerk was also directed to mail a copy of the order to Wesley Hooks and Adam Neal, both of whom the order identifies as representing themselves.
Disposition
Judge Jennifer H. Rearden ordered the voluntary-dismissal filing to take effect, directed termination of the listed defendants, and denied Adam Neal’s motion to dismiss as moot. The opinion does not decide the underlying claims.
Read the full 2-page opinion on CourtListener, the free public archive maintained by the Free Law Project.