Scales v. American Web Coders
- Laura Swain
- 1:23-cv-06448
- U.S. District Court · Southern District of New York
- 2
In Scales v. American Web Coders, Judge Swain dismissed the action for lack of jurisdiction and improper venue.
William Scales, the self-represented plaintiff, was affected by dismissal of the action and denial of his related requests. American Web Coders and Silicon Graphics were the defendants.
What happened
In Scales v. American Web Coders, William Scales was given 60 days to file an amended complaint after an earlier order identified problems with federal-court authority and venue. He did not file one.
The court dismissed the action because it lacked subject-matter jurisdiction and the case was brought in the wrong venue. It also denied as no longer necessary Scales’s requests for pro bono counsel and for service by the United States Marshals Service.
Chief United States District Judge Laura Taylor Swain directed the Clerk to enter judgment. She also ruled that any appeal would not be taken in good faith and denied permission to appeal without paying filing fees.
The detailed version
- Scales v. American Web Coders · No. 1:23-cv-06448
- Laura Swain
- Jan. 16, 2024
Background
William Scales, who represented himself, sued American Web Coders and Silicon Graphics. In an October 10, 2023 order, the court allowed Scales 60 days to file an amended complaint. That order warned that failing to do so would result in dismissal for lack of subject-matter jurisdiction—the court’s authority to hear the case—and because the case was brought in the wrong venue.
Scales did not file an amended complaint within the permitted period.
Rulings
The court dismissed the action for lack of subject-matter jurisdiction and because it was brought in the wrong venue, citing 28 U.S.C. § 1406(a) and Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 12(h)(3). The court directed the Clerk of Court to enter a judgment dismissing the action.
The court denied Scales’s application for the court to request pro bono counsel as moot, meaning the request no longer required a ruling because the action was being dismissed. The court also denied as moot Scales’s January 10, 2024 request for service by the United States Marshals Service.
The court certified under 28 U.S.C. § 1915(a)(3) that any appeal would not be taken in good faith and denied permission to appeal without paying filing fees. Chief United States District Judge Laura Taylor Swain signed the order.
Read the full 2-page opinion on CourtListener, the free public archive maintained by the Free Law Project.