Hong v. Sun
- Laura Swain
- 1:23-cv-05500
- U.S. District Court · Southern District of New York
- 4
In Hong v. Sun, Judge Swain dismissed the civil action without prejudice after the plaintiff sought to withdraw it, while allowing 30 days to continue.
The order affects plaintiff Kyong Mi Hong by dismissing the action without prejudice, giving him 30 days to elect to proceed, and making any filing-fee refund conditional on that election.
What happened
In Hong v. Sun, the court treated the plaintiff’s October 9, 2023 letter as a request to voluntarily withdraw his civil case and to receive a refund of the $402 filing fee.
The court dismissed the action without prejudice under Rule 41(a). Because the letter might have sought to withdraw only certain documents, the court gave the plaintiff 30 days to clearly state that he wanted to continue. If he continued, he would not receive a refund; if he did not respond, the court would close the case and direct a refund. The court also denied fee-free status for any appeal.
Judge Laura Taylor Swain issued the order on October 13, 2023.
The detailed version
- Hong v. Sun · No. 1:23-cv-05500
- Laura Swain
- Oct. 13, 2023
Background
Kyong Mi Hong filed this action using the court’s procedures for people representing themselves. The court had previously directed Hong either to pay the $402 civil filing fee or submit sufficient information to proceed without prepaying fees. Hong later paid the filing fee.
Hong asked the court to treat the case as “private” or “not public.” The court construed those requests as motions to proceed anonymously or under a pseudonym and to file the case under seal, and denied them. Hong then sent an October 9, 2023 letter saying that he wanted to withdraw additional documents, that the judge did not need to review his papers, and that he wanted to know how to get his check back.
Ruling
The court construed the October 9 letter as a motion to voluntarily dismiss the action under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 41(a), along with a request for a refund of the $402 filing fee. The court granted the request and dismissed the action without prejudice.
Because the letter could instead have meant that Hong wanted to withdraw only certain documents, the court gave him 30 days from the order’s date to submit a letter clearly stating that he wanted to proceed with the action. If he proceeded, he would not receive a refund. If he did not submit that letter, the court would issue an order closing the case and direct the Clerk of Court to issue him a new check for $402; the specific check he submitted would not be returned.
The court also stated that it would continue to treat Hong’s filing as a civil action if he chose to proceed. The court explained that a private individual cannot bring criminal charges in federal court. Finally, the court certified that an appeal would not be taken in good faith and denied fee-free status for purposes of an appeal.
Read the full 4-page opinion on CourtListener, the free public archive maintained by the Free Law Project.