Chen v. The City of New York
- Laura Swain
- 1:23-cv-02383
- U.S. District Court · Southern District of New York
- 2
In Chen v. City of New York, Judge Swain dismissed the case without prejudice after Chen failed to update his address or contact the court.
Long Chen’s action against the City of New York was dismissed without prejudice; the opinion does not describe the underlying claims.
What happened
In Chen v. City of New York, Long Chen was detained at the Anna M. Kross Center on Rikers Island when he filed his complaint. He was representing himself and had been allowed to proceed without paying filing fees.
The court had given Chen time to file an amended complaint, but mail sent to him was returned after he was discharged. The court then ordered him to provide a new address within 30 days and warned that the case could be dismissed if he did not. Chen did not update his address or contact the court.
Judge Laura Taylor Swain dismissed the complaint without prejudice for failure to prosecute, meaning the dismissal did not bar Chen from seeking to pursue the claims through the procedure described by the court. The court also denied fee-waiver status for any appeal and directed the Clerk of Court to enter judgment.
The detailed version
- Chen v. The City of New York · No. 1:23-cv-02383
- Laura Swain
- Aug. 25, 2023
Background
Long Chen filed a complaint against the City of New York while he was detained at the Anna M. Kross Center on Rikers Island. He was proceeding without a lawyer and had permission to proceed without paying the filing fee.
The court had previously given Chen permission to file an amended complaint to correct problems in his original pleading. The Clerk’s Office mailed that order to him, but the mail was returned as undeliverable after Chen was discharged. The court then ordered Chen to update his mailing address within 30 days and warned that the case would be dismissed without prejudice for failure to prosecute under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 41(b) if he did not comply.
Court’s reasoning
Chen did not notify the court of a changed address and did not have any further contact with the court. The opinion dismissed the action on that basis and did not decide the underlying claims in his complaint.
A dismissal without prejudice does not bar Chen from seeking to pursue the claims again through the procedure identified by the court. The court stated that Chen would need to ask for reconsideration under Rule 59(e) or Rule 60(b), provide an updated address, and ask the court to vacate the dismissal order.
Disposition
Judge Laura Taylor Swain dismissed Chen’s complaint without prejudice. The court certified that an appeal would not be taken in good faith and denied Chen permission to proceed without paying the filing fee for an appeal. The court directed the Clerk of Court to enter judgment.
Read the full 2-page opinion on CourtListener, the free public archive maintained by the Free Law Project.