Robinson v. Annucci

Background

The court opened this action after Stephen Robinson was listed as a plaintiff in a complaint filed by Bryon K. Brown and 28 other individuals. That complaint concerned the alleged denial of a religious service at Sing Sing Correctional Facility on April 14, 2023. Robinson did not sign the complaint or otherwise indicate that he intended to litigate the claims in it.

The court initially assumed that Robinson intended to pursue those claims. It directed him to pay the filing fee or submit an application to proceed without paying it and a prisoner authorization for fee deductions. It also directed him to sign and resubmit the signature page of the complaint.

Robinson then wrote to the court that he had not signed the lawsuit, had been unaware of it, and believed his name had been used without permission because he had filed a grievance about being denied a religious service. He asked the court to remove his name from the action.

Ruling

The court granted Robinson’s request to withdraw the action, stating that he had not authorized it to be filed. It dismissed the complaint under Rule 41(a) of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, without prejudice to any action Robinson might seek to file concerning the incident described in the earlier complaint. The court did not decide the underlying allegation about the religious service.

The court directed the Clerk of Court not to charge Robinson the $350 filing fee and directed the official having custody of Robinson to suspend any previously authorized deduction from his prison trust account for this lawsuit. It also certified that an appeal would not be taken in good faith and denied permission to appeal without paying the appellate fee. The Clerk was directed to terminate the action.