Hart v. Furman

Background

Malcolm Hart, who was representing himself, sued Mary Elizabeth Furman and Bronislava Shmayenik. He sought to terminate an income-withholding order authorizing the collection of child support through his employer.

Reason for Dismissal

The court said Hart had previously filed a substantially similar complaint seeking the same relief on the same grounds. That earlier case was still pending under docket number 23-CV-4779 (LTS). Because this action raised the same claims, the court determined that litigating the duplicate lawsuit would serve no useful purpose.

The court noted that the earlier case named Shmayenik and the New York City Department of Social Services, while this case also named Furman. If Hart intended to assert a claim related to the income-withholding order that was not included in the pending case, the court said he could file an amended complaint in that action under Rule 15 of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure.

Ruling

The court dismissed Hart’s complaint as duplicative of his pending action under docket number 23-CV-4779 (LTS), without prejudice to that pending case. The court certified that any appeal would not be taken in good faith and denied Hart permission to appeal without paying filing fees. The Clerk of Court was directed to enter judgment.