Johnson v. City of New York
- Laura Swain
- 1:23-cv-05279
- U.S. District Court · Southern District of New York
- 2
In Johnson v. City of New York, Judge Swain dismissed the duplicate lawsuit without prejudice and waived its filing fee.
Glenn Johnson, the Clerk of Court, and the Warden of the Vernon C. Bain Center; the dismissal leaves Johnson’s pending action under docket number 1:23-CV-5264 (VSB) unaffected.
What happened
Johnson v. City of New York involved Glenn Johnson’s lawsuit claiming violations of his federal constitutional rights and state law. He filed the case without a lawyer while held at the Vernon C. Bain Center.
The court found that Johnson had submitted the same complaint in another case pending before Judge Vernon S. Broderick under docket number 1:23-CV-5264. Because the lawsuits raised the same claims, the court said there was no useful purpose in continuing this duplicate case.
Judge Swain dismissed this action without prejudice as duplicative, directed that Johnson not be charged the $350 filing fee, and ordered judgment entered. The court also denied permission to appeal without paying court costs, finding that an appeal would not be taken in good faith.
The detailed version
- Johnson v. City of New York · No. 1:23-cv-05279
- Laura Swain
- July 24, 2023
Background
Glenn Johnson filed this action without a lawyer while he was held in the Vernon C. Bain Center. The opinion says he asserted claims alleging violations of federal constitutional rights and claims under state law.
Reason for dismissal
Johnson submitted a complaint identical to the complaint in another action pending before the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York under docket number 1:23-CV-5264 (VSB). Because the two actions raised the same claims, the court concluded that litigating this duplicate lawsuit would serve no useful purpose.
Ruling
The court dismissed this action without prejudice as duplicative of the pending action. The court also directed the Clerk of Court not to charge Johnson the $350 filing fee for this action, and directed that funds not be deducted or encumbered from his prison trust-fund account for this action.
The court certified under 28 U.S.C. § 1915(a)(3) that any appeal would not be taken in good faith and denied permission to appeal without paying court costs. It also directed the Clerk to enter judgment and send copies of the order and judgment to Johnson and the Warden of the Vernon C. Bain Center.
Read the full 2-page opinion on CourtListener, the free public archive maintained by the Free Law Project.