Washington v. Lindsay
- Laura Swain
- 1:23-cv-05888
- U.S. District Court · Southern District of New York
- 2
Washington v. Linsay: Judge Swain gave Washington 30 days to amend her complaint and denied fee-free appeal status.
Charmeen Denise Washington, who was given 30 days to amend her complaint; the action could be dismissed if she failed to comply, and fee-free appeal status was denied.
What happened
In Washington v. M.D. Linsay of Bellevue Hospital Psychiatrist, Charmeen Denise Washington sued and asked to proceed without paying filing fees. The court had previously ordered her to amend her complaint, but that order was returned as undeliverable.
After Washington filed another case showing a new address, the court updated her address in this case. It ordered the Clerk to mail her the new order and the earlier amendment order, and gave her 30 days to file an amended complaint.
The court said the action would be dismissed for failure to state a claim if Washington did not comply or show good cause. Judge Laura Taylor Swain also denied fee-free status for any appeal, finding that an appeal would not be taken in good faith.
The detailed version
- Washington v. Lindsay · No. 1:23-cv-05888
- Laura Swain
- Oct. 6, 2023
Background
Charmeen Denise Washington filed the action without a lawyer and requested permission to proceed without paying filing fees. On July 31, 2023, the Court ordered her to file an amended complaint within 60 days to address problems in her original complaint. The order warned that the action would be dismissed if she did not comply.
The July 31 order was returned to the Court as undeliverable on August 16, 2023. Washington had not updated her address in this case. She later filed a new complaint in another case that listed a new address, and the Court directed the Clerk to update her address on this case's docket.
Order
The Court directed the Clerk to mail Washington this order and the July 31 order at her new address. The Court granted Washington 30 days from October 6, 2023, to file an amended complaint complying with the July 31 order. It also allowed her to consent to electronic service by filing the attached form within 30 days. No summons would issue at that time.
The Court stated that, if Washington failed to comply within the allowed period and could not show good cause for the failure, the action would be dismissed for failure to state a claim on which relief may be granted. The Court stated that no further extensions of time would be granted.
Appeal and disposition
The Court certified under 28 U.S.C. § 1915(a)(3) that an appeal from the order would not be taken in good faith and denied Washington permission to proceed without paying fees for purposes of an appeal. Judge Laura Taylor Swain signed the order. The opinion does not state that the action was dismissed at this stage.
Read the full 2-page opinion on CourtListener, the free public archive maintained by the Free Law Project.