Sowell v. Annucci
- Laura Swain
- 1:22-cv-06538
- U.S. District Court · Southern District of New York
- 3
In Sowell v. Annucci, Judge Swain gave Randy Sowell 30 more days to file an amended complaint after an earlier missed deadline.
Randy Sowell, who must file the second amended complaint and provide an updated address; the case will otherwise proceed toward dismissal under the court's stated conditions.
What happened
In Sowell v. Annucci, Randy Sowell, representing himself, claimed under a federal civil-rights law that his multiple detentions under parole warrants were unlawful. The court had previously dismissed his case for failing to state a claim but allowed him to file a second amended complaint addressing two specific claims.
Sowell missed the deadline, and the court entered judgment. After he said jail staff had confiscated his legal papers, the court reopened the case and gave him 30 additional days to file the complaint. The court still had not received it when it issued this order.
Judge Laura Taylor Swain granted Sowell one final 30-day opportunity to file the second amended complaint and said no further extensions would be granted. She also directed him to provide an updated address and stated that, absent a timely filing or good cause, the court would enter judgment dismissing the action for failure to state a claim and decline supplemental jurisdiction over any state-law claims.
The detailed version
- Sowell v. Annucci · No. 1:22-cv-06538
- Laura Swain
- Jan. 3, 2024
Background
Randy Sowell, proceeding without a lawyer, filed this action under 42 U.S.C. § 1983, a federal law allowing claims against state actors for violating federal rights. He alleged that his multiple detentions under parole warrants were unlawful.
On June 26, 2023, the court dismissed the action for failure to state a claim but granted Sowell 60 days’ leave to file a second amended complaint addressing two specific claims. The court warned that failing to file within the deadline would result in judgment dismissing the action. After Sowell did not file the complaint, judgment was entered on September 25, 2023.
Sowell later stated that staff members from the New York City Department of Correction had confiscated his legal papers, preventing him from responding to the June 26 order. On October 30, 2023, the court treated his letter as a motion for reconsideration, granted that motion, vacated the September 25 civil judgment, reopened the action, and gave him another 30 days to file the second amended complaint.
Current Order
Sowell then told the court that he had been extradited to New Jersey and had mailed his second amended complaint from Rikers Island on November 10, 2023. The court had not received the complaint. Because Sowell was representing himself, the court granted him one last opportunity to comply with the June 26 order.
Ruling
Judge Laura Taylor Swain granted Sowell an additional 30 days to submit the second amended complaint. The court stated that no further extensions would be granted. It also directed Sowell to update the court in writing with his new address.
The court stated that, if Sowell did not file the complaint within the prescribed time and could not show good cause for the failure, it would enter judgment dismissing the action for failure to state a claim under 28 U.S.C. § 1915(e)(2)(B)(ii) and decline to exercise supplemental jurisdiction over any state-law claims under 28 U.S.C. § 1367(c)(3). The court also certified that an appeal from this order would not be taken in good faith and denied permission to appeal without prepaying the filing fee.
Read the full 3-page opinion on CourtListener, the free public archive maintained by the Free Law Project.