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S.D.N.Y.Procedural orderFiled Sept. 5, 2023

Komatsu v. Urban Pathways, Inc.

Judge
Laura Swain
Docket
1:22-cv-09080
Court
U.S. District Court · Southern District of New York
Pages
2
Civil Procedure
In one sentence

In Komatsu v. Urban Pathways, Judge Swain dismissed Komatsu’s complaint after he failed to file the required amended complaint.

Who this affects

Towaki Komatsu and the defendants in the case; Komatsu’s complaint was dismissed, and judgment was entered as directed.

What happened

In Komatsu v. Urban Pathways, Inc., the court had ordered Towaki Komatsu to file an amended complaint within 60 days and warned that failing to do so would lead to dismissal.

Komatsu did not file an amended complaint. The Second Circuit later denied him permission to file an appeal, finding that it continued his prior pattern of vexatious filings.

Judge Laura Taylor Swain dismissed the complaint under the statute governing screening of complaints filed without the required filing fee. She also ruled that any appeal would not be taken in good faith, denied fee-free status for an appeal, and directed the Clerk of Court to enter judgment.

The detailed version

For law students, journalists, and other readers who want the full reasoning

Case
Komatsu v. Urban Pathways, Inc. · No. 1:22-cv-09080
Judge
Laura Swain
Date
Sept. 5, 2023

Background

On January 26, 2023, the court directed Plaintiff Towaki Komatsu to file an amended complaint within 60 days. The order stated that failure to comply would result in dismissal. The court later addressed filings submitted by Komatsu, and Komatsu filed a notice of appeal on April 20, 2023.

On August 15, 2023, the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit issued its mandate denying Komatsu permission to file the appeal. The appellate court stated that the appeal did not depart from Komatsu’s prior pattern of vexatious filings. Komatsu had not filed the amended complaint required by the district court’s January 26 order.

Ruling

The court dismissed the complaint under 28 U.S.C. § 1915(e)(2)(B)(ii). The complaint had been filed without the required filing fee under 28 U.S.C. § 1915(a)(1). The court also certified under 28 U.S.C. § 1915(a)(3) that any appeal from the dismissal would not be taken in good faith and denied fee-free status for purposes of an appeal. The court directed the Clerk of Court to enter judgment.

The authoritative version

Read the full 2-page opinion on CourtListener, the free public archive maintained by the Free Law Project.

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