Williams v. United States
- Richard Sullivan
- 1:23-cv-05453
- U.S. District Court · Southern District of New York
- 2
In John T. Williams v. United States, Judge Sullivan treated Williams’s letters as a voluntary dismissal, directed closure, and denied appeal fee-waiver status.
John T. Williams, whose action challenging his conviction and fully served sentence was closed after the court treated his letters as a voluntary dismissal; the United States was the respondent.
What happened
John T. Williams challenged his conviction and fully served sentence in John T. Williams v. United States through a filing described as a request to vacate a judgment for lack of jurisdiction. Before the court acted, Williams sent two letters asking to dismiss the case and have it closed immediately.
The court treated the letters as notices of voluntary dismissal under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 41. Because the United States had not served an answer or a motion for summary judgment, Williams could dismiss the action without court approval.
The court directed the Clerk of Court to close the case and denied Williams permission to appeal without paying court costs, stating that any appeal would not be taken in good faith. Judge Richard J. Sullivan signed the order while sitting by designation.
The detailed version
- Williams v. United States · No. 1:23-cv-05453
- Richard Sullivan
- Aug. 23, 2023
Background
John T. Williams filed a petition styled as a motion under Rule 60(b)(4), challenging his conviction and fully served sentence in a related criminal case. Before the court took action, Williams sent letters dated July 6 and July 24, 2023, asking to dismiss the civil action and demanding that it be closed immediately. The opinion states that Williams had sued the judge in separate proceedings.
Legal standard
The court explained that the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure may apply to proceedings under the rules governing federal post-conviction motions when they do not conflict with those rules or a statute. Under Rule 41(a)(1)(A), a plaintiff may voluntarily dismiss an action without a court order by filing a notice of dismissal before the opposing party serves an answer or a motion for summary judgment. Such a filing automatically ends the lawsuit.
Although Williams’s letters were not formally titled notices of dismissal and did not cite Rule 41, the court concluded that their format and content required treating them as notices under that rule. The court therefore concluded that Williams was entitled to voluntarily dismiss the action without court approval.
Disposition
The court directed the Clerk of Court to close the action under docket number 23-cv-5453. It also certified that any appeal would not be taken in good faith and denied Williams permission to appeal without paying court costs. The opinion does not state whether the voluntary dismissal was with or without prejudice. Judge Richard J. Sullivan, a United States Circuit Judge sitting by designation, signed the order.
Read the full 2-page opinion on CourtListener, the free public archive maintained by the Free Law Project.